


Ain't It A Fine Life

by martialartsandsmarts



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Adoption, Autism, Autistic, F/F, F/M, Foster Care, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:08:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 40,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25180675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martialartsandsmarts/pseuds/martialartsandsmarts
Summary: Life isn't easy when you've been dealt a raw deal in life. Losing your parents and hoping day in and day out to not starve is nothing new to Spot. Sure the system gives him foster families, but are they ever really families, and do they ever really care about him. Life is hard enough on Spot without parents, but the added bonus of being moved whenever people feel like it and whenever he's screwed up is enough to drive anyone crazy.*** Just a bit of a warning, this is my first story. I am completely new to writing, but I am not new to reading. Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)
Comments: 91
Kudos: 40





	1. The Beginning (Spot)

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fan fiction. Please be nice. Also, I do not know the update schedule yet, but I will try for a new chapter every week, at least.

His last home with Snyder hadn't been any good. In fact, it down right sucked, if you asked him. From the daily beatings to the endless, impossibly long list of chores he was given each day, it was a wonder how he even survived. His social worker, Carlos, was always telling him he needed to be nicer and more adaptable to meeting new people. Well, fuck him, what did he ever know about living in the system. All he had ever given Spot was shitty homes, with even shittier foster "parents". It was no wonder his last couple of schools had recommended therapy, not that he'd ever believe them when they had told him. Sometimes Spot just wished his father had taken it too far that night, maybe then he wouldn't be alive to suffer through the present. Speaking of which, here he was now, the devil himself.

Knock, knock, knock. "Spot, I've been pounding at your door for the past five minutes. Get out of there already. I found you another new family, and I don't think they would be happy if you were late. Not that it matters, considering you won't even try to behave." Carlos screamed at him through he door.

"Wells maybe I'se try harder if ya didn't sell me out to abusers and drunks." Spot yelled back. He was developing a headache from all of the noise, and with his luck, he was bound to explode if not with Carlos, but at his new "home".

"They wouldn't be so abusive, as you like to call it, if you just tried harder. God, why can't you just care a little bit Spot." 

Ouch, that hurt. It wasn't his fault none of the families liked him. He knew his parents didn't. God, get it together Spot, you can't cry in front of your social worker. He's already this close to locking you up in a padded room. Why won't he just shut up. If Carlos actually did his job, maybe he would know all this pounding on the door wasn't the best idea with him.

"I'se out, now shut the fuck up. You've already drilled it into my head that I suck. Now let's just get it over with. Where are you taking me? Let me guess, another abuser."

"What did you just say to me? I know you just testified against my last client that his home wasn't suitable for you. The police wouldn't really notice any new marks on you right now, now would they?"

"I'se sorry, sir." Spot trembled out, eyes staring at the floor. "I was out of hand, it won't happen again. I'll be good this time."

"You damn right better be, but seeing as that has never happened, I don't trust you. Now shirt off, against the wall."

Spot did what he was told. What did it matter, he had survived the system long enough. Maybe this time, he wouldn't get so lucky and Carlos might finish him off. He was still healing from the last beating he got from Snyder, he couldn't handle another one. But he had to, one day he would be old enough to testify against Carlos, and maybe he would get the justice he deserved. At least, he hoped, but that was cut short as soon as he heard the dreaded sound of the belt coming off.

"Won't you ever just stay in one place for more that sixth months. God, if this family doesn't work out, you better be thankful Snyder went easy on you."

Spot gulped. He tried to steady his breathing, but it was too hard to do as the pain of the buckle on his back took control. He could feel the blood dripping down his back. Fuck. Was that his neck? At least with his back he could keep if covered. A nick on his neck, and his next family would give him away as soon as they laid eyes on him. A beaten up orphan street rat like him didn't tend to attract families.

It felt like it had been forever. Multiple times had Spot felt a soft whimper escape his lips, but thankfully no tears. If there were tears, then he would get beaten worse the next time. Maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky, this family would want him and would he could escape the system. Though he didn't dwell on that hope very long. As always, hope was dangerous, and he learned very early on that any hope left him disappointed and depressed in the end.

* * *

The ride down there wasn't that bad. His back felt like it was on fire, but that wasn't anything new. Sure, being shoved in the bug and rat infested backseat of a car that hadn't been cleaned in forever was not a nice feeling, but at least this time Carlos hadn't decided to drive as recklessly as normal. However, the stench of old alcohol was sure adding to Spot's headache, and he knew that it wouldn't be so long until he had enough. I guess all he could do was hope this family, wherever he was going, was just gonna leave him alone instead of antagonizing him. It's not like he could even control it.

"Hey, quit your rocking, you little freak. No one's going to want to adopt you when you act like a freak. Get it together, or I'm going to pull over and make you myself. And don't think I won't. And I know your back can't handle another lesson, so just fucking stop!"

Apparently, Spot had subconsciously started rocking. It's not like he could control it. Why didn't anyone ever understand. Of course, he stopped immediately after Carlos started berating him about it. He was never going to survive if this next family didn't want him. He had to really try, and that really scared him. Even though as much of an asshole as Carlos was, he was right, Spot knew he wasn't adoption material. Standing at just 4'9" and 70 lbs at 14 really wasn't the most attractive child ever. Not that malnutrition ever helped his cause. But also he knew, no one wanted a problem kid. And that was what Spot Conlon was. No one ever had to say it made them uncomfortable, sure many beat it into his head both verbally and physically, but even those who didn't never really had to say it. He knew he was a lot to work with, so long ago he had just given up. People like him never got fairy tale endings, no people like him often ended up dead before they ever aged out of the system. Was it fair, hell no, but neither was life.


	2. A New Home (Spot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work isn't meant to offend anyone or be offensive. Please tell me if I have referenced or said anything inappropriate. Vulgar language will just be something you have to live with, but I will not be including any slurs without a trigger warning, if I include any at all. Also, violence/abuse will be sporadically put in so if you are uncomfortable with that, it is totally fine with me if you don't read. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable at all, so please tell me if something is wrong. I am truly sorry if I portray any mental health issues incorrectly, and please, do correct me if I am. That being said, I do want to point out that not everyone experiences the same diagnoses the same way, and I will be trying to shed light, so to speak, on not just the stereotypes. There will be ableism, homophobia, racism, sexism, abuse, and more, but that is just because they are issues that need to have more attention brought to them. Do I condone them personally in any way, absolutely not, but will they be included so that the work is more authentic, yes. Hopefully I will portray them in a negative light as to discourage anyone from behaving and believing in this way, but just know that it will be included. 
> 
> P.S. Thanks for reading my story. And drop a comment just to let me know if you are reading my story. It could be just a hello for all I care.

"Get out." Carlos shouted at him.

Spot got moving with a startle. The ride from Snyder's to his new place hadn't taken as long as he thought it would. However, he did cross the bridge, and sadly Spot was no longer in Brooklyn. Was he a little sentimental for Brooklyn, yes, but that didn't mean he couldn't suck it up and live here instead.

"Hey, idiot, grab your shit too. I don't want to be here longer than I need to." Carlos grunted at him, careful not to draw suspicion to the neighbors and new family.

Spot ran to grab his stuff. Great. Another apartment building. Hopefully it was nicer that Snyder's. God, just thinking about him made Spot shiver.

As they entered through the doorway, Spot realized this place was nice. Great. Another rich family that thought it might look good if they foster a local delinquent like him. Not that he was local, there's no way he would ever consider Manhattan to be his place. With his only backpack slung over his shoulder, Spot made his way with Carlos into the elevator.

"Remember what I said kid, this is your last chance. You fuck this up, and it's over. You can wave to me outside your padded room if you screw this chance up. I pulled a couple of strings to get you here, so if you fuck this up, I'm done with you. Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to move you, but if it isn't, next time will be. So you better work your ass off to become adoption material, or next time, you may never have the chance again."

Spot gulped. This was it, now or never. The elevator doors opened, and just as he was about to step out of the elevator after Carlos, he saw an arm coming for him.

"Jesus kid, can you just be normal for once?" Carlos seethed.

"Sorry, I, I, I'se sorry." Spot whispered back in fear.

He didn't mean to flinch away, obviously. It was second nature. With so much happening today, the headache was only growing and Spot just needed to get away. Sure, living with Snyder was absolutely horrible, but at least he knew what to expect. The man hated him, probably still does, but that made him predictable. He knew right from the start to never expect anything from him. Hopefully this family would be straight forward with him. None of that fake "love" in the beginning only to realize a couple of days into this that he really was a freak. Sometimes the unknowing of if you were hated or just strongly disliked was worse than getting a beating. As lame as it sounds, Spot knew he preferred just getting beat up than trying to figure out if people actually liked him.

Knock, knock, knock. "Hello. This is Sean. I'm so glad you could take him in. All you need to know about him is in the file I sent you. Just be careful, he's a handful. Don't worry, I won't be surprised if you want to give him back in a couple of days. I told him to behave, but we all know he can't. So just give me a call when you've grown tired of him, but please I do prefer a morning call because it gives me some time to deal with him. Though, I do know a night call might be inevitable with him. Bye." Carlos rushed out.

Before Spot even had a chance to really look around or even see who his new family was, Carlos was already done with his Spot is just a waste of space and an unnecessary amount of trouble speech. Great, there goes a good first impression.

As Spot lifts his head and eyes his surroundings, he notices two things. Number one, this apartment is very big and looks kind of homey, and number two, there are only guys living here. Sure, women are the hardest to read, but they don't usually hit as hard with the belt. Mostly they prefer words and egging their husbands on, save from his mother. Her beatings were the worst.

"Hello and welcome to our home. My name is Denton. Oh, and don't worry, I'm sure your social worker was just joking around." The father figure said with a smile on his face.

Spot wasn't sure what to think. Was he joking, being sarcastic, it was hard to tell.

"I'll let my boys introduce themselves, but just so you know, we also have one more living with us who isn't here right now. She's their sister, and also my daughter, Sarah. She's 16, so only a couple years older, but I'm sure you'll get along wonderfully." Denton said.

This was just what Spot needed, a teenage girl living with him. He grit his teeth and began to look around. Though careful not to meet anyone's eyes.

"Hi! My name is Les! That's my brother Davey. Oops, I was supposed to let him introduce himself. Ouch!" Les told him very energetically, though glaring at Davey because he was just elbowed. However, he went right back to smiling. "Anyway, do you want to hear about my day? Dad said not to ask you too many questions. But, that's just one, so do you? I could tell you all about school and what I did today. Did you know we had a really yummy breakfast today? I--"

"Sorry about him. Les, remember what dad said. We don't want to overwhelm our new brother with questions." The older brother said as he shushed Les.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Wait did you say he was our new brother? That's amazing, I've always wanted more siblings. I hope your more interesting that Davey." Les responded as he ran towards Spot to hug him.

However, all Spot saw was a loud energetic beast hurtling towards him, and that was when he lost it. In his defense though, today had been an incredibly overwhelming day.

Spot darted to a corner ready to escape whatever was flying at him. Later he would learn, that corner happened to be behind a couch, but for the time being all he cared about was getting to safety.

As soon as his back hit the wall, everything felt wrong. His back hurt from his beating earlier, but the headache he had from all the yelling hit him full force. He wanted to rock, but Carlos said that was only for freaks. So instead, he settled for scrunching in a tight ball and screaming. However, the more he screamed, the louder it got, which was certainly not helping the situation.

Denton was trying to quiet Les as he too was screaming and crying, certainly not helping the matter. Les felt terrible and thought that Sean hated him. David was currently panicking and was on the verge of a panic attack before Les came barreling into him looking for some support from his older brother. Honestly, Denton stood there for a couple of seconds before taking action. He knew he had to act fast, so first he tried to calm Les down. Because whenever Les was in distress, so was David.

"Les, I know buddy, it's ok. You did nothing wrong. Sean just needs a little more time before you jump to hug him." Denton was trying to get through to Les through his sobbing. And at this point, David had worked himself into a panic and had scurried off to his room. "I know it's confusing, and I know all you wanted to do was say hello, but Sean hasn't had the best past like you, your brother and your sister. I promise I'll explain more later, maybe when Sarah's home and we're all a little bit more familiar with each other. Shh, Les, it's ok. I got you. Here I got you buddy." he said as he wrapped his arms around Les and held him tightly. At this point Les had reduced his crying to just a couple of sniffles. "Look, I have to go make sure Sean and David are ok too. Do you think you are ok now, or do you want to be held more?" Denton asked calmly.

"I'm, I'm, I'm ok." Les sniffled. "I'll go check on Davey. I'm better at calming him down anyway, that way you can help Sean feel better faster." Les said with a small smile.

"Thanks buddy. That's my brave Les. Thank you so much, and I promise I will come check on you and Davey as soon as I can." Denton smiled. "As soon as everyone is feeling better, I promise you we'll all have some ice cream and give each other some proper introductions." Denton said as he began to get up.

At this point, Sean's screams had turned into intense sobbing, which worried Denton greatly.

Spot had lost it when Les started screaming. Everything was already so loud and bright and just wrong feeling. But when the screaming started, Spot gave up on trying to stay as small as possible. It didn't matter. He was going to get beaten. But he was so scared. Spot threw his hands up over his ears pressing down harshly and began to rock violently. His back felt horrible, but at this point, he had given up because everything just felt too painful. He didn't realize it, but as Les' screams began to die down, so did his own. However the rocking stayed. He needed to keep rocking. He needed the repetition, not because it felt good, but because he needed it like a fish needs water. It's hard to explain, and even as he is trying to stop. He can't. No matter what he does, his body won't listen. Not that it matters, Denton probably already thinks he's a freak. None of this is getting better. Spot is so tired, but everything still feels all wrong and too loud and too bright and too different. Suddenly, Spot sees a pair of feet in front of him. His first reaction is to jerk away, and surprisingly it works. Now they are further away.

Denton had began to walk over and try to calm Sean down, but when he had just arrived, Spot had already flinched away. That's ok Denton thought, though this was new territory, he had been through this kind of meltdown with David before. Sure it had been easier because David trusted him, but at the same time, Denton would never blame a child for having a meltdown. He firmly believed it was never their fault. But sadly, as he looked at Sean, someone had obviously taught him differently. And that broke his heart.

Oh no. All Spot could think is now this man his bending down near him. Sure he stepped away, but what if he was preparing to smother him as he sat there rocking. Spot knew he had to get away, but for some reason his legs weren't cooperating with him. Maybe it's because they never fully listened to him ever, but seriously, now was not the time for his body to give up on him. He needed to get away. All of the sudden, a pair of tight headphones were being forced on to his head. And then, everything went blissfully quiet. Sure he could still hear himself sob and could still pick up some minor sounds and all of the vibrations from the floor, but everything was pretty much silent.

Denton watched as Sean began to slow his fervent rocking. It was a gamble to put headphones on him, but he knew he had to do something. He didn't want to touch him, but the way that he had been clamping on his ears had to be bad for his head. Luckily, David had left a pair of his ear defenders laying on the couch above Sean, so he took the risk. And it was worth it.

Now that everything was silent, or as quiet as it could be, Spot could feel himself begin to relax on the rocking. The tears had stopped coming down quiet as hard and he began to look up. The man in front of him suddenly got up and ran to grab something, quietly cursing at himself. That made Spot incredibly nervous. What if he came back with a belt or a bat. Spot was in a vulnerable enough position as it was, so slowly be began to scoot himself further and further behind the couch.

"Damn it" Denton muttered as he stood up and ran to grab David's old book. David hadn't needed it for years, but it was still something Denton wasn't willing to let go of because it had helped him out so much when David was younger. But when he came back, Sean was scooted further behind the couch with the sobbing having returned at full force. However, this time, there wasn't enough space to rock. However, he knew he had to do something. While Sean trusted him enough, or needed them enough, he wasn't sure to keep the headphones on. He wasn't getting any closer, so Denton opened the book he brought and began fervently flipping through different cards.

Spot was still trying to scramble his way further back behind the couch when all of the sudden a big book/binder is slid towards him. On the open page lay a couple of velcro cards writing out a sentence. He knew what these were, but he hadn't seen them in so long. The last time he had been allowed to use a book like this to help him communicate had been back when he was in therapy when he was first put into the system all of those years ago. It had been short lived, but he remembered the freedom they gave him to find the right words to explain what he was thinking. So slowly, he stopped trying to get away and began to look at what they said.

"I am Denton. Your new parent. I want to help you."

Spot was intrigued. No foster parent had ever done this for him, let alone cared enough to even come close to this. With a glance upwards and a quick motion to flip the pages, spot saw a head shake up and down meaning he had permission to use them as well.

Denton gave a quick nod of his head when he saw Sean asking for permission to use the book. He was beyond grateful that this had been able to help Sean out. He watched as Sean began to quickly scan over the cards and pull the ones he needed, almost as if Sean had been using this book and navigating it his entire life.

Spot flipped through the pages as he began to pull all of the cards he needed. He obviously needed to be quick or the book might be ripped out of his hands before he could use it. As quick as it was passed to him, Spot sent it back with his message.

"Name S P O T not S E A N."

Denton quickly read the message and smiled. Spot was watching him intently, never meeting his eyes, but he could tell at that moment he had earned a bit of his trust. "Nice to meet you Spot." Denton said quietly to him both out loud and in sign language. He also slid the book back over and after he had filed his cards away again, so that Spot could tell him another message if he wanted to.

Spot watched as Denton signed to him as well as spoke to him. He was so grateful, and slightly hopeful, that this house would be better. This man knew sign language and was willing to give him a dumb book to help him communicate for crying out loud. Slowly, but surely, he began to inch his way forward from behind the couch towards Denton, along with the book. He knew he had to come out sometime, so he began to crawl forward.

Denton watched as Spot headed towards him. He was like a scared puppy right now, and Denton knew he had to stay calm and make his actions slow as to not spook him. Finally, Spot made his way out from behind the couch, but his head was hung in shame, and tears were still streaming down his face. He stood up and began to rock nervously facing Denton basically letting him know he was ready for whatever punishment awaited him.


	3. First Impressions (Spot)

Spot stood up nervously from behind the couch. He wanted to just be normal for once. God, why did he have to go and fuck it all up? Denton was going to realize Spot was bouncing soon, if he didn't already, and was going to beat him even worse over it. Maybe the best he could do was hang his head in shame, what did it matter anyway. Carlos was right, he was never going to be adoption material. 

Denton watched as Spot stood there so scared and alone. All he wanted to do was run up and hug him, but he knew that would spook the kid. Whatever happened to him previously in life obviously didn't leave a nice mark. Wait, what's that on his neck. What happened there?

"Hey Spot, buddy, I know it's scary, but can you turn around for a second. I need to see your neck." Denton told him calmly.

"Sure, sir. Sorry, sir." Spot replied trembling with his head faced down. "Do you want me to take my shirt off too?" 

"Buddy, why would I want you to take your shirt off?" Denton replied.

"I don't know. I'se sorry. I guess most people just thought it was easier to beat me if I didn't have any clothes covering the area." whimpered Spot quietly.

"Hey, none of that now. I would never want to harm you. But if your back does hurt, I think it might be best if you take your shirt off." Denton told him.

"Ok, sir, right away, sir." And after he said that, Spot knew he was in for it. No matter how nice Denton may be asking now, he knew he was going to lose it once he saw his back. 

Spot began to lift his shirt and face the wall when Denton suddenly gasped.

"Ah, Sean, it might be easier if we do this in the bathroom. You wouldn't want anyone walking in now would you?" Denton tried to say positively. But, he wasn't so sure he would stay so positive after seeing just the bottom few inches of his back. 

He was in for it now, wasn't he. The bathroom was always the place people went to hurt him the most. Hopefully he would let him keep the ear defenders on for now at least.

Denton lead Spot to the bathroom, and once they entered through the doorway, that was when all hell broke loose again.

He couldn't do it. Spot had hoped this home would have been a good one, but apparently it was like all of the other ones. It didn't matter anyway. Two tantrums, as Carlos liked to say, had already been thrown. He knew he'd be gone either later tonight or by tomorrow night. However, the only thing he could do now was hope and pray that nothing bad happened right now. Not that he was ever so lucky.

Denton watched as Sean suddenly darted in between the small space between the toilet and the cabinet. A space he has found David in many of times sadly.

"Spot. It's ok. I won't hurt you. I just want to see your back. Don't worry, I won't blame you for what happened, if that's what you're worried about." Denton coaxed sadly, hoping Spot would leave his hiding place. Just like with David, he had to hope and pray that this would work.

"Really?" Spot asked with hope. Not that he really believed him, but this Denton guy sounded nice so far. Maybe he would be one of the nice ones. 

Spot slowly began to stand up again, though he was incredibly nervous. He began to fiddle with his fingers. If only he had a pencil with him right now. For some reason, chewing on the eraser at school always helped him calm down. But for now, his lip would have to suffice.

It was slow, and Denton knew he had to treat Spot like a spooked puppy. However, he knew his back was in desperate need of attention. 

"Do you think you can turn around for me? I promise I won't hurt you, I just want to help. Your back has to be hurting from sitting behind the couch right?" Denton hoped his calm words of plea would be followed, even though he knew Spot really didn't know him and had no trust in him.

Realizing his time was up, Spot slowly turned around and began to lift his shirt up. He was facing the mirror in front of the sink. God, he looked like a mess. Was that really what he looked like? 

Denton began to assess the damage done to Spot, but it still broke his heart to think that this was all the young boy had ever known. There was bruises and cuts covering his back, all in varying stages of freshness and healing. All of the blood looked dried, but he could tell something had happened today judging my the amount of dried blood on his back. Luckily, nothing looked infected, but he would have to clean his back to make sure that was true. He only hoped Sean would be open to the idea.

"Ouch. Your back looks pretty bad, buddy. I think it would be best if we cleaned it. So you have two options, either I can clean it right now with some warm water and a wash cloth, or number two you can take a shower and do it yourself."

"I'll, I'll, I'll" Spot stammered out. He was so scared of what would happen. Finally, he held up one finger in resign, hoping Denton would take it easy on him tonight. Better now than never right?

"Ok, ok. Sure, I'll be sure to make it quick. If you want to stay there, that would be fine. I just have to grab a washcloth and some soap from in front of you. Then I will assess the damage from there, ok?" Denton told him clearly.

Spot didn't know what to think. He hoped this would all be over soon. He didn't know how much more he could take. Suddenly, something was being thrust into his hand as Denton was turning on the water. 

"Here, buddy. Why don't you hold this while I clean you up." Denton told Spot has he could see him fiddling with his hands pretty aggressively.

The ball that Denton had handed him was pretty nice. It was small, about the size of a mini bouncy ball, but it was covered in these rubbery spikes. Soon Spot felt himself rolling the ball around in his hands and rubbing it because it felt nice. Before he knew it, Denton announced that he was done and that his back looked fine. Of course he would have to check on it everyday, but so far everything was healing up nicely.

"You can keep that. We literally have tons of them laying around the house, if you want." 

Spot just nodded in reply, not really knowing what he was talking about. Keep what, the ball or the headphones? Nothing anyone ever gave him was permanent anyway. It would always get broken or confiscated at the end of his stay here anyway. He set the strange ball back on the counter as Denton and him left the room.

Denton watched as Spot lay the ball back on the counter, sadly. Maybe Spot didn't like it, I mean not all people enjoy fiddling with the same stuff anyway. Immediately after he set it down, he went right back to fiddling with his fingers again. Denton grabbed the ball as they went to leave back to the family room in case maybe David needed it too, or himself if he was being honest. 

As they neared the family room, Denton led Spot over to the couch and told him to just to chill here for a couple of moments while he went to get David and Les so that they could make some proper introductions. 

"Oh, here, and you left this." Denton said as he handed Spot the ball back. He hoped Spot would accept it as it seemed to help him earlier. "I have to go check on David and Les, and I'll bring them back out here soon. So for now, if you want to just chill on the couch, that would be cool. Also, any blanket or pillow that you find here is fair game, so I'll leave you to it. Oh, and I almost forgot, I can bring the binder back if you would prefer, or we have an iPad that has a pretty nice app with more choices. We also all know sign, if that would be easier."

Spot didn't know what to say. This was all too much. They were being strangely nice for once. Spot looked over and grabbed the closest blanket he saw. It was a soft baby blue one, though he would prefer red, it looked fine enough. But for some reason, it was strangely heavy. All of the stuff in this house seemed strange to Spot, so he just went with it, not that it mattered. When he draped the blanket over himself, it felt nice. He wouldn't admit this until later, but the blanket seemed to help alleviate all of the tingling his skin felt from the tantrum he threw earlier. 

* * *

Denton was worried on David and Les. They were quiet, but he knew that could either mean everything was better, or ten times worse. He just hoped that Spot was ok for the moment. As he was entering David's room, he saw Les immediately.

"Dad, you came back. We were really worried about you. Davey needs your help. He won't answer me. It's like a he just turned off, like a robot. Hey, did you know we learned about robots earlier in school and--" Les came hurtling at him with his mouth speaking a mile a minute.

"Nice to see you are feeling better, give me a second with Davey, I'll meet you in your room in a bit." Denton replied.

"Ok, I hope Davey feels better." Les said as he was leaving.

Denton walked over to get a better look at what was wrong. He hoped everything was ok, after what just happened with Spot. 

David sat on the foot of his bed. He had another pair of ear defenders on, but he currently felt like he could still hear everything. Everything felt so wrong. After a while of panicking, his body just kind of shut down on him. David knew, logically at least, what was going on. His therapist described this as shutting down and the body just needing time to reorient itself after his brain had worked itself into a frenzy. It was still scary, though. His body wouldn't respond, and all he wanted to do was to be comforted by his Dad, but he had no way of letting him know that. Maybe if Jack was here, that would be better too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there everyone. I am so glad you stayed with this story and decided to keep reading. I have no idea what my update schedule may be, so you may be getting a lot of updates at once and then just a few sporadically here and there. Honestly, schedules are a lot of work to maintain, as much as they are helpful.


	4. Big Change (David)

He couldn't even lift his head. Why couldn't he lift his head? Why isn't his body responding to him? Come on David, think. If Jack was here, he'd know what to do. Not that you could even communicate that to him. Dad's here, but you can't even communicate with him. Les is finally gone at least. Oops, if he knew I said that, he would be so mad at me. It's not like I don't like him, it's just that he's a lot. Why can't he tell when I just need to be left alone. 

"Hey David. How's it going?" Denton said as he walked up closer to him taking a seat on the bed with him.

He tried to open his mouth, but nothing was working. First his legs and arms giving out on him, but now his mouth doesn't even want to cooperate. People at school always told him to shut up, why is it finally happening right now of all times. This is not the time to be giving up. He had finally lifted his head, but still he couldn't force a sound past his lips.

Denton watched as David stared at him with pleading eyes. He could tell that David needed something, that his son needed something, but that he couldn't express it. Maybe it was his blanket. Whenever this happened to David when he was younger, whatever he needed was usually within reach. 

"It's ok. Don't panic. I got you." Denton reassured David slowly. It was no use for him to panic too, even though this hasn't happened to David in well over a couple of years. "Here, why don't I just grab your blanket from under where you're sitting and get you all wrapped up. I know you like that." 

As Denton was wrapping David up, like he used to, he could see the relief in his son's eyes almost instantly. David had always calmed down with the blanket, so it was no surprise this was what he had obviously been heading towards earlier.

"Th, th, thanks dad" David stuttered out after a couple of moments. "I n, n, need, needed that." 

"No big deal buddy, everyone needs help in life sometimes." Denton replied calmly, careful not to make David too self conscious. "Do you need anything else right now?"

"N, no, I'm ok." David replied with a weak shake of his head. All of the panic from earlier, finally catching up with him and sucking the energy right out of him.

"Well, if you don't need anything at the moment, I guess I can start. Don't worry, Les is fine, and so is Sean. Tonight's been a bit rough on everyone hasn't it. While I know you're tired, would it be possible to just come out and restart introductions again? I promise, it won't take longer than five minutes, and after that, you can go straight to bed. But seriously, no pressure, if you're not feeling up to it." Denton told him as he was watching David slowly begin to calm down and return back to his usual self.

"Sh, sh, sure, I'll do it. I mean I hope someone would do the same for me, if I was in their p, position." David replied tiredly. "But can I keep the ear defenders on please?"

"Totally, no problem. Sean has one of your old pairs on too, if you're ok with that."

"It's fine with me. If we wants to use them, that's fine." Honestly David was too tired at the moment to really argue with anything, not that he would have with this matter.

"Ok, I'm going to grab Les, and then we will head back to go and join him on the couch. If you want to join me, or just head out on your own, either way is good." Denton told him, as he headed out the door towards Les' room.

David didn't really have a plan, so he just headed out towards the family room to the couch. That way he could give his dad some time with Les, and then hopefully Les wouldn't be so energetic.

* * *

"Sweet, so now that we are all comfortable here, I guess we can start some proper introductions again." Denton told everyone cheerfully as they were gathered around the room. 

Spot and David were both on the couch wrapped up in blankets and ear defenders. Les had his normal stress ball in hand to help him stay focused, but yet he was perched precariously on the arm of the chair Denton was sitting in. 

Spot had the book open in front of him and was flipping through various pages and cards, but so far wasn't really making a move to pull anything out. It looked more like he was just kind of skimming it with mild interest. However, what surprised Davey was the fact that Denton handed him the old iPad. David hadn't seen that thing in a long time since before he had finished speech therapy when he was like eight. He didn't know that Denton even kept that old thing around. 

Just as Denton had told him earlier, Spot was handed a nice iPad with an app already opened. Apparently he wasn't lying because in front of Spot was a more sophisticated version of the book in front of him. He checked the volume, and it had already been set to a nice level. Spot was grateful for this because he didn't know if tonight would be a talking night, and for some reason, this family seemed ok with it.

"I guess I will begin. My name is Bryan Denton and I am the father to these two boys and another daughter named Sarah. I guess since she isn't here tonight as she is at a sleep over, I will introduce her as well. Her name is Sarah and she is 16. Sweet, so who wants to go next?" Denton spoke aloud to everyone.

"Me! Hi, my name is Les and I'm 10, almost. I'm really nine, but I'm almost 10, really." Les exclaimed happily.

"Thank you Les. Alright, which one of you wants to go next?" Denton replied.

"My name is Spot, and I am 14." A robotic voice said as David was snapped out of his thoughts. Gosh, he hadn't heard that voice in years. It used to be his voice. 

"Ok, umm. I guess it's my turn." David said as he stared intently down at the carpet on the floor. "I'm David, and I'm 16, just like Sarah. We're twins, well obviously." 

"Well, now that we all know each other, I guess it's getting kind of late. We missed dinner, but if anyone wants anything to eat the pantry is yours. Even desserts." Denton told everyone cheerfully.

"Yaay!" Les cheered as he ran towards the kitchen, no doubt to grab himself some ice cream. 

David stood up and grabbed himself a mac and cheese cup. God, he loved those. If it was up to him, that's all he would ever eat. I mean seriously, everyone could agree that mac and cheese was the best food.

However, despite the two brothers enthusiasm, Spot stayed in his place on the couch. Almost looking as if he was scared to move a muscle. David felt bad for him, but not bad enough to skip making himself mac and cheese for dinner. I mean it's not like Denton let him eat this stuff as much as he wanted too. Sure, was eating it three times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner a bad idea, yes. But once a day couldn't really hurt him could it, he thought as he opened the microwave. 

While Spot stayed on the couch, Denton got up to grab three of those new drinks David saw him bring home from the store earlier today. He then headed back towards the couch where Spot was.

Spot watched as Denton came back with three bottles in hand. They looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't place them. Whatever it was, Denton was probably really thirsty. Spot just hoped it wasn't alcohol.


	5. Three Bottles (Spot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleep schedules are over rated! Not really though, I wish I had one, tbh. Idk, like once a sleep cycle is up, so am I. Thus, you get me updating at weird times around the clock. #fuckanormalsleepschedule. If you think about it though, sleeping straight through the night is a relatively recent idea, by recent I mean post Industrial Revolution, so maybe not super recent. If we encourage babies to sleep naturally, why should we not do it for the rest of our lives. Biphasic sleep is natural, and honestly it feels better, so why can society not devolve back to the way it once was. Not that I am a traditionalist in any way, maybe just when it comes to sleep. Honestly fuck people who cannot accept everyone for the way they are. Well congrats, if you read this far, this was just a rant. Anyways, on to the actual chapter.

As Denton walked closer, Spot began to worry more. Those bottles looked an awful lot like some cheap alcohol. Up until this point, Spot had slowly began to relax as he realized he wasn't going to get hurt. Like seriously, Les and David seemed genuinely happy with the man. Maybe that's because he only beats foster children. And sadly, that's all he will ever be.

"Here, I got these for you. In your file, it noted that you were severely malnourished and underweight." Denton told Spot as he calmly set the three bottles on the table.

Is this some kind of joke? Spot was not going to fall for it. Whatever he had planned up his sleeve, Spot was not going to fall for it.

Denton watched as Spot began to grow nervous, and he could tell the kids walls were growing even higher from when he first met him. 

"I have three flavors here, if you want to choose: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla." Denton told him as he pointed to each bottle on the table. "Don't worry, it's not poison or anything. I did some research and saw that these drinks were good for helping you gain some weight and getting the proper nutrients."

Spot didn't know what to say. Did this man really go out of his way to do this for him. Slowly, he edged forward a bit on the couch to get a better look at each of the bottles. 

Denton watched as Spot leaned forward to explore his choices more. He knew he needed to get some calories in Spot, but also knew he couldn't rush him.

Silently, Spot stuck his arm out, wavering a bit, as to ask for permission. He really wanted the strawberry drink, but he didn't know what Denton's reaction would be if he just grabbed it.

Denton nodded his head as to give Sean the permission he was asking for. But what surprised him was the small voice he heard.

"Thank you sir, I'se promise I won't waste any of it." Spot said with a small smile on his face.

This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him before, so he knew he couldn't waste a valuable drink like this. The last time he could remember having something like this had been in the hospital a couple of years back when one of the families had been a little too rough. 

He immediately opened the drink and began to chug it. Spot couldn't remember the last time he had tasted strawberry anything, and it was so good. Afraid that Denton might suddenly change his mind about allowing him to have the drink, Spot tried to down it as fast as he could, almost wishing he could savor it more.

"Hey, slow down buddy. You don't want to give yourself a stomach ache from chugging this, do you?" Denton tried to say calmly. He knew Spot needed as many calories as he could get, but at the rate he was drinking, Denton knew he was going to get sick.

"I'se sorry." Spot replied quietly. He stopped drinking immediately and put the lid back on. Maybe if he gave it back now, he could get it back in the future.

"No, no, I'm sorry Spot. I didn't mean it like that. You can finish it if you want, we even have more if you want another one now or later. I just didn't want to see you choke or make yourself sick because you were drinking it kind of fast buddy." Denton told him as if to coax him into finishing it.

"Oh, thank you." Spot, didn't really know what to say. 

He opened the bottle back up and resumed drinking this precious liquid. It was really good, and he didn't want it taken away from him. But for Denton's sake, he slowed down, just a bit though.

As Denton watched Spot near the end of the bottle, he watched him grow more uncomfortable. Was it too much, did he want more? Did he want actual food?

"I see that you liked it. David used to love these when he was young, but I doubt he really remembers drinking them. We used to go through so many vanilla ones. Do you want another strawberry one, or would you like to try another flavor? We also have real food, if you want any of that." Denton said cheerfully hoping to get Spot to eat or drink something else.

Spot didn't know how to respond. Another drink, and maybe some food, all in one night, let alone one day. This had to be too good to be true. He just shrugged and looked at Denton longingly hoping that this wasn't some trick.

It saddened Denton to watch as Spot got so excited over the prospect of food. This poor boy had obviously been deprived of so much. He gestured over to the bottles, hoping Spot might pick up another one or maybe ask him for another strawberry.

Realizing that he could, Spot picked the next closest bottle to him. It was chocolate, but he couldn't tell the man he didn't like chocolate. This might be his only chance at food for awhile, so he had to eat all he could. Slowly, he opened the bottle and took a small sip of this new flavor.

Denton watched in horror as he saw the look on Spot's face. The kid vehemently did not like the chocolate flavor, as he gagged at his initial sip. However for some reason, the kid forced himself to drink this drink at the same speed as the last, though slightly faster. Maybe he was hoping to get it down faster and get it over with quicker.

"Whoa, slow down there champ. You don't have to eat or drink anything you don't like here. I can go and grab you another strawberry if you'd like. I'll even show you where they are so if you want to grab one in the middle of the night or whenever you can." Denton told Spot seriously. 

"Really? Um, ok." He said as he stopped drinking this drink. Spot was desperate to get the taste of chocolate out of his mouth, but he couldn't exactly let Denton know without offending him. "Can I go with you?" He asked trembling.

"Sure, just set the other one on the table so you don't have to carry it, and if you want, you can have the vanilla one to wash the taste out of your mouth. Or if you want to wait until we get to the cabinet to grab a strawberry, that's cool too." Denton replied.

Spot set the chocolate monstrosity of a drink on the table, and quickly grabbed the vanilla one hoping to get the taste out of his mouth. He opened it up and took a big drink. Chocolate was never his preferred flavor, so anything to wash that taste out of his mouth was good with him. Vanilla wasn't too bad. If he was being honest, it was really good, but no where near as good as strawberry. Still he wanted to finish the bottle before they got to the cupboard because maybe then, Denton may allow him a third.

Smiling to himself, Denton was happy at the fact that Sean obviously enjoyed vanilla a lot more than he enjoyed chocolate.

As they headed to the cupboard in the kitchen, Spot and Denton passed Les and David. Both of whom were enjoying their favorite meals, or desserts in Les' case. In front of Les was a giant bowl of ice cream with probably more sprinkles than ice cream. And beside him, David had made his way through one mac and cheese cup and was currently on his second. Both of his boys ate as if they hadn't eaten their favorite food in so long. Even though that Les had ice cream last night, and David had mac and cheese for lunch. Honestly, if he didn't make somewhat of a healthy dinner every night, he would worry that all Les was consuming was sugar and all David was consuming would be noodles and cheese. 

Spot followed Denton into the kitchen, and as he passed David, his stomach began to grumble. It had been a bit since the last time he had eaten any real food, and as good as the drinks Denton gave him were, he was kind of hungry still.

When they got to the cupboard, Denton opened it up and showed Sean where he set the pediasures at. He hoped that Spot might grab them on his own at some point in the future, but the boy still looked too skiddish to that right now. So he grabbed a strawberry one and handed it to him. 

Spot grabbed the bottle and opened it immediately. This was the good stuff, and if he would try to get as much of it into his body as possible tonight. His stomach grumbled again, and suddenly Denton turned around. Of course something bad was bound to happen to him. Now he was mad at him, so Sean carefully and quickly tried to set the bottle on the shelf and bolt for it when

"Oh man. Sorry, I forgot to offer you any real food. We have basically, anything that you could want. Oh, and don't worry, you can finish that drink or have more of those if you prefer instead. I just thought some real sustenance might be preferred." Denton told him with a smile on his face.

So he could drink these and eat. This was one of the best first nights Spot had ever experienced. He nodded his head quickly and began to rapidly sign what he wanted. Hopefully Denton got what he meant as he was finishing off his drink.

Watching Spot stand there and bounce happily while drinking was a sight Denton thought he would never see tonight. But what snapped him out of his thoughts was the rapid sign Sean was sending him. For some reason, he kept signing the word carrot over and over again. Then it clicked, Sean probably wanted carrots. Not that he was to judge or anything, it was just a strange request. Though at least it pleased him to know Spot would eat vegetables, something he had to fight Les into eating. So off they headed into the kitchen. 

Thank goodness, Denton had decided to do his shopping earlier in the day. He went to grab the bag of baby carrots out of the fridge when it suddenly occurred to him that maybe Spot may want ranch with it. But that was a harder item to find, so he set the carrots on the counter next to him and went digging in the fridge. Where could the ranch be?

Spot was getting nervous. He could see the carrots on the counter, what else was the man looking for? Why was it taking so long, was his offer suddenly being retracted. Spot began to fiddle with the ball Denton had handed him earlier nervously. What if he was just joking and Spot couldn't eat. At least he had gotten to drink those pediasures, it was better than he had gotten in a long time anyway. 

"Dad, I think Spot wants those carrots now. What are you even looking for? You're making him stand there all nervously." Les called out as he watched his father rummage through the fridge some more. He could tell Spot wanted the carrots as he was looking back and forth at them, which was what he did whenever they went out for ice cream and he needed to pick a flavor. 

Spot was grateful for Les. Maybe this way, he would get to eat his carrots. 

Denton turned around and smiled. He had forgotten to tell Spot what he was looking for. "Sorry about that. I was looking for some ranch to go with the carrots."

"It's ok, sir. I, I, I just like plain carrots." Spot whispered hopefully back at Denton. Maybe tonight would be the best night ever.

"Oh, want a plate with that, or do you want to eat them straight out of the bag?" Denton replied, thankful because he honestly couldn't find any ranch.

"Bag's fine sir." Spot replied nervously.

"If that's good with you, here you go." Denton grabbed the bag of baby carrots and handed them to Spot to munch on. "If you want, you can join Les and David at the table, or you eat them wherever you feel comfortable."

"The table is good, sir. Thank you sir." Spot replied happily as he ran over to the table to eat his prize. Maybe this family wouldn't be so bad after all. He opened his bag of carrots and began to joyfully chew on them. 

It had been so long since he had carrots. He loved the feel of the snap of the initial bite. Honestly, Spot just loved everything about carrots. They were nice and crunchy, which always left him feeling good after words, and they were orange. Which albeit, not his favorite color, but it was close to red. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else likes the crunchiness of carrots?


	6. First Night (Spot)

Mmmm, Spot thought as he munched away on his carrots. These are really good. But how many was he allowed to have? He had already eaten so many. Almost 2/3 of the bag was gone. What if Denton was mad that he had eaten so many. But he was so hungry. Not so much anymore, I mean for the first time, Spot felt like his stomach was finally full. Maybe he should give them back. Denton didn't seem like the kind of guy to get mad, right? Les had already finished his ice cream with sprinkles, or was it sprinkles with ice cream. Spot didn't really know. All he knew was that he had gone to bed. David had also left. Apparently, three cups of mac and cheese was his limit. Spot wondered what his limit was for carrots. Was three cups all David could eat, it was a lot right? Or was three cups all Denton allowed him to eat?

Denton watched as Spot happily munched away on carrots. He seemed a lot more calm now than when he arrived. Carrots were obviously his comfort food, like mac and cheese was David's. Oh man, he shook his head. He was going to be needing to buy a lot more carrots. Not that, that was a bad thing. No honestly, carrots were a lot healthier than a lot of the food he bought his other kids. I mean, all Les wanted to eat was sugar. Sarah loved chips and other snacking foods like that. And David, well all he loved was mac and cheese. Honestly, if it was up to his kids, all he would buy was ice cream, sprinkles, gold fish, and mac and cheese. Well now, he could at least add carrots to the list. Maybe then it would look like they were a healthy family. Or a family that loved orange food. 

Spot began to slow down. He was getting full. But he was still scared to return the bag of mostly gone carrots to Denton. What if he got mad at Spot and this was the last thing he was allowed to eat?

Denton noticed Spot beginning to slow down, so he walked over there to go and talk to him.

"Thank you sir. I really enjoyed these. Here, sir." Spot said nervously as he thrust the bag of carrots back at Denton. He was scared that they were going to get stolen away earlier, at least the man had let him finish.

"Oh, thank you, are you sure your finished?" Denton was taken by surprise. Though not really, the boy still seemed incredibly skiddish around him.

"Yes sir. They were good sir." Spot replied back, shaking his head a bit.

"Well, that's good." Denton replied with a smile. "Are you still hungry, do you want anything else?"

Spot was taken aback. Was he really allowed more food? It wasn't a trick. He was full, but maybe he could try to stash something away for later in case he couldn't get to anything. So he nodded his head back in response.

"Ok, what would you like?" Denton asked.

"Can I have another drink?" Spot asked nervously. "I can get it if you want, sir." 

"Sure, go ahead buddy. Do you remember where the cupboard is?" Denton replied.

Spot nodded his head. Would he really be allowed to go to the cupboard on his own? He began to walk there on his own, but checked to make sure Denton wasn't behind him first.

Denton watched as Spot got up and left. The kid looked back at him as if to check to make sure where he was, so Denton stayed right where he was at the table to prove to him that he wouldn't lie.

Spot walked back to the cupboard and immediately grabbed a couple of the chocolate drinks, that way Denton won't be suspect that he stole them. He then grabbed a couple of vanillas, and one strawberry to drink on the way down. Last but not least, he spotted a couple individually packed granola bars, so he decided to grab a few of those just in case. Luckily, Denton had allowed him to carry the blanket around with him, so it made hiding these items pretty easy. He walked out of the cupboard and headed back to the kitchen.

As Spot came back, Denton watched him coming back a little slower. He knew Spot had taken more that just the strawberry drink because he had a camera installed in the cupboard back when Les was little to make sure he wasn't taking any candy. It broke his heart to know that Spot thought he needed to hoard food. That was something they were going to have to work on later. But for now, Denton allowed him to take it. I mean it wouldn't hurt anyone really. He did grab non perishables. 

"Hey buddy, so it's getting late. Once you finish your drink, do you want me to show you to your room? Or do you want to head there now, and you can finish your drink in there?" Denton asked him calmly, careful to hide that he knew anything about the food Spot was trying to hide.

"Sure, sir. I'se fine now." Spot replied nervously. He was trying to not let anything move around or make any noise.

"Ok, follow me. And we can swing around to grab your backpack up front too. If you want, you can keep the blanket you have now along with the ear defenders." Denton told him as they began to head back to Sean's new room.

So those were the things he was wearing on his head. He just thought they were some strange headphones. But why did Denton have these? David also had a pair on, were these his? Spot, began to panic, what if David was mad that he was wearing his? Was this blanket also David's? He saw David wearing a similar one earlier.

Denton stopped at Spot's room and showed him in. However, he noticed Spot significantly more on edge and beginning to panic. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Denton asked calmly, but on the inside he was beginning to worry.

Spot moved to take off the ear defenders and hand them back as if to say that he was sorry for taking them.

So that was what was up. Spot realized these were David's and was beginning to panic. "Hey, it's ok. Deep breaths buddy. I meant it when I said you could keep these. David has plenty of other ones, plus these are his old ones."

So David wouldn't be mad, that made Spot a lot more relaxed. 

Good, so that was it. Denton watched as Spot began to even out his breathing again and he looked a lot more calm.

"Well, this is it. Sorry about all the clutter in here. I've been meaning to move the stuff into storage for a while now. But, if you see anything you like, feel free to take it. The bed's over there. The sheets are clean, but we can always order different ones if you would prefer. By the way, that reminds me, we need to go shopping to get you some more stuff. We can go in a couple of days of course, so that you have time to settle in first. But, umm, I guess you already know where the bathroom is, so if you want to get ready I'll leave you to it." Denton told him as he began to leave the room.

"Thank you sir." Spot said in a small voice, hoping Denton would hear him.

Denton turned around with a smile on his face. God, Spot was already worming his way into his heart. "No problem buddy. But umm hey, if you want, you can call me Denton or Bryan, sir isn't necessary." He said as he turned and left the room to go and get ready for bed.

Spot looked around. This had to be the biggest and nicest room he had ever stayed in. Was that bed really for him? The sheets looked so nice. And in his opinion, the room wasn't that cluttered. Sure it had a couple of old toys, and a weird board in there, but other than that it was empty. 

Spot immediately got to work. First he set his backpack down, and began to unpack the few measly possessions he owned. People didn't usually like when he left his stuff in his bag. He opened the dresser and in total he had three shirts, two pants, three pairs of underwear and socks, and one pair of suspenders someone had given him in an old home. He was going to need to do laundry soon. Some of his stuff was starting to smell really bad. He then went and stashed his stolen food in his small backpack, and tucked his backpack under the mattress. From here, he couldn't even tell that anything was hidden under the mattress, so he was pleased. The only thing now was he needed to brush his teeth, but he didn't have a tooth brush, toothpaste, or any toiletries. He was just going to have to make due with rinsing his mouth out.

When he got to the bathroom, there was a small arrangement of new products laying by the sink with a note. The not read: "Here Sean, I meant to give these to you earlier, but I picked some stuff up at the store in case you needed them. There is a toothbrush, toothpaste, small deodorant, face soap, a small washcloth, and towel if you want. I also left you a cup to put everything in once you are finished, but please do hang up the washcloth and towel on the rack. - Bryan"

He had already gotten to eat tonight, and now he was getting food. This was amazing. The deodorant and face soap were unscented which was nice, and the toothbrush was red, his favorite color. He opened everything up, and began to use them. 

It took him about five minutes to finish getting ready. Everything was so nice to use, and for once in his life, Spot felt ready to go to bed. He walked back to his room, and got in bed.

The only problem was, these sheets were too soft, and they felt all wrong. Spot hoped Denton wouldn't be mad if he stripped the bed, and left them folded in a pile at the foot. So that's what he did. It's not like he could spend another minute under these dreadful things. Plus, he had the old blanket Denton let him keep to keep him warm. That thing was strange. Spot couldn't figure out why it was so heavy, but it didn't really matter. For some reason, he really enjoyed the weight.

He tried to fall asleep, honestly. But all of the sounds of the new house were keeping him up. He took the headphones, or ear defenders off, whatever they were, because they were uncomfortable to sleep in. However, that meant he had to listen to all the strange sounds of the new apartment. It had been a couple of hours, and Spot was beyond exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep. Everyone else was asleep, and it's not like he could do anything else, so why was he still awake? 

The board across the room from him kept catching his attention. It had all of these weird colorful balls and strips attached to it, and honestly, Spot just wanted to touch it. He knew Denton told him that anything in this room was his if he wanted it, he was still scared to touch anything. Plus, it was the middle of the night, what if he woke someone up making too much noise. Then he would be in for it. But curiosity eventually got the better of him, so he decided to go and touch it. First though, he double checked to make sure his door was closed, and then he scampered over to the weird board quickly, but quietly. 

The board was laying against the wall, so Spot made sure to carefully set it on the ground as to avoid accidentally knocking it over. Then he began to touch everything on it. Some of the stuff moved on it, but he was scared they were going to make a noise, so he left those things alone. 

After exploring around for a bit on the board, his favorite thing that he found was the strange strip of velcro running across the top. It felt nice to run his fingers over. It reminded him of the strange ball Denton had given him earlier, and he liked that a lot. He also found two strings attached on one of the sides that he could tie and untie into knots. For some reason, playing with this weird board had helped release some of the pressure he felt in his hands almost constantly. Usually that tingling only left when he shook his hands, or flapped them. But long ago, he learned that was a bad thing to do. Teachers were constantly telling him, quiet hands. But he didn't know what that meant. Hands didn't make noise or talk, so how could they be loud. All he knew, was that whenever they said that, his wrists and hands were usually held down and that made the pressure unbearable and it made it harder for him to focus. Whenever they said that, everything became unbearable and began to hurt. But this, this board, made the pressure he had for so long gotten used to go away. And he liked that.

Denton watched Spot through the baby monitor he had set up in his room. In Denton's defense he hadn't really planned on spying on Spot tonight. He had a baby monitor set up in every one of his kids rooms in case they were sick or suddenly needed him in the middle of the night, but couldn't get to him. It had been a bit of a last minute decision, but he was glad he had put a monitor in Spot's room. When he heard him get up in the middle of the night, he was worried something was terribly wrong, but watching him explore and enjoy the board as much as David had in the past put a smile on his face. Even if it was the middle of the night and Denton was tired from the previous day, watching Spot sit there care free was worth it. Though it was pretty late, and Denton hoped he would go to bed soon because Les would be up bright and early tomorrow morning, and the kid wasn't quiet. He just hoped Spot was learning to adjust to his apartment here, and maybe would like to stay.

Spot was finally getting tired, and his mind was calm enough after spending some time at this weird board, that he decided to try and get some sleep again. He had stayed up late enough, and finally his mind was just as sluggish as the rest of his body. He wandered over back to his bed, and covered himself back up with the heavy blanket. And this time, this was the fastest he had ever fallen asleep, and honestly probably the best sleep he had gotten ever. Maybe this new home could really be permanent he thought as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have other characters in the book, I promise. They're just coming soon.


	7. First Morning (Spot)

Les got up early. Like super early. The kid literally woke up when the sun came up. Which was early. It was only like 5:10, and yet the kid was up and filled with energy. He knew his dad didn't like when he tried to make anything in the kitchen that required the stove or oven, but Les really wanted pancakes. And the rule was, he couldn't wake his dad up until 6. But he was up, and he was hungry. So instead, he settled for just passing the time by turning the tv on. It was a Friday, so that meant he had school, sadly. But at least now, he could squeeze in an extra episode of his favorite tv show, The Flash. 

David was woken up by the tv turning on. It was too early for this, honestly. God, sometimes Les could be such a pain, as much as he did love his brother. Sarah, his twin, was lucky because she got to stay over at Katherine's last night. Hopefully she got more sleep than he did. He tried to roll over and ignore it, but honestly the volume was up way too high for this time in the morning. Grumbling, David left is room in search to quiet Les down.

When Denton heard David get up, he knew it was probably time for him to get up as well. He was usually good about tuning Les' early morning shenanigans ought when he slept, but if David was up, he couldn't tune out the sound of both of them. When he looked at the clock, Denton grumbled. 5:20, really Les? Is he serious? I just hope we don't wake Sean up early. The kid looked like he could use some rest from last night. 

"Hey, Les. Can't you quiet down? People are trying to sleep." David yelled at his brother exasperated.

"Yeah, but I'm bored. I want pancakes, but dad says I can't use the stove on my own." Les retorted back, eyes still locked on the screen.

"That has nothing to do with the volume of the tv, and you know it. So can you just turn it down?" David yelled getting more agitated.

"Whoa, guys, can we bring the noise level down a little bit? Spot is still sleeping, and honestly, you two should be as well." Denton came in scolding both of them.

"But I'm up, and I'm bored. Maybe I'd be quieter if I could have pancakes, but you won't let me use the stove." Les shouted angrily, pausing his show because everyone was interrupting.

"I'm only up because Les doesn't know how to keep the tv at a normal volume. If you're gonna blame anyone, blame him." Davey replied angrily.

"Fine, fine, both of you. Les, please turn down the volume, and David, please stop shouting at your brother. It does no good to the situation. How about, I have a talk with Les, and you can try to grab another hour of sleep?" Denton replied sighing.

"You know I can't go back to sleep once I'm up" David said in a frustrated tone. "I'm just going to make some breakfast, and start my day."

"Ok, I'll be over there in a minute if you want any help." Denton replied as David left. "Now Les, can you please turn the tv off right now. You know it gives David a headache when you play it too loudly in the morning." Denton said as he turned his attention to Les.

"Yes, I know dad. I'm sorry. Is David really mad at me? What should I do?" Les replied.

"How about you go and apologize to him. He still loves you. Oh, and tell him I'll get started on pancakes in like five minutes for both of you. I just have to check on Sean first." Denton said as he hugged Les good morning.

"Got it." Les said running off with a smile.

Denton walked off to go check on Sean. He was hoping the boy hadn't woken up yet from all of the commotion, but honestly that was probably incredibly unlikely.

* * *

Spot woke up the minute he heard someone scamper past the door this morning. It took him a couple moments to realize where he was, but then he remembered. Right, a new family, who maybe might not hate him as much as all the other ones. He could work with that. He probably only slept a couple of hours, but it was the best sleep he had gotten in awhile. 

Then he heard another set of footsteps and some grumbling under their breath along with the sounds of a tv in the background. So the first pair must have been Les, and now David's up. Good to know. So he still had some time to sleep before Denton returned.

The sounds of an argument snapped Spot out of his daze, and he immediately put his ear to the door. What if they woke Denton up, and then he punished all of them? Spot was getting worried, but he knew as long as he stayed in his room, hopefully less of the blame would be put on him. All of the sudden, he heard a third set of footsteps, more rushed this time, heading out towards the other voices.

Oh no. Denton was up, and he did not sound calm. Well judging from his footsteps at least. Spot knew from previous homes that this almost always meant trouble. Maybe, if he locked his room, then he would be safe. Then Denton couldn't come in. He knew it made Snyder angrier when he did this, but it also did give him a bit of time to prepare. 

So he sprung into action. He didn't have anything to barricade the door with, but then he noticed a lock. Hopefully, it worked. He locked the door, and then began to panic. If Denton did come into the room, what could he use to protect himself with. The closet was empty, meaning he couldn't really hide in there. And the bed was slightly too low on the ground for him to fit under it. Maybe, he could try to hide behind some of the old things left in here. There wasn't enough to shield him completely, but they might make it harder to find him. But that's when he remembered. The bed. Shit. 

In his haste last night to get comfortable, Spot had stripped the bed. With a flurry of movements, he remade the bed, perfectly, to look like no one had been there. Maybe if he made the room look untouched, Denton would forget he was there. He would be like a fever dream.

Down the hall, he could hear footsteps approaching his room. So in a quick haste, he jumped and hid behind the pile of toys, curled into a ball, and covered himself up with the blanket. Maybe then, he wouldn't really be noticed with all of the old stuff. 

Denton walked down the hallway to go and check on Sean. Hopefully the kid wasn't spooked by the argument earlier. He didn't want to risk opening the door and waking the kid up if he wasn't, so he passed his room to go and check the baby monitor. 

When he checked the baby monitor, however, the bed was remade, and their was no sign of the kid. Now this was suspicious. He couldn't have left, so that probably meant he was sitting somewhere in the room that the camera didn't cover, probably scared out of his mind. 

While Spot was curled in a ball in hiding, he felt something poking him in his pocket. It was the ball Denton gave him earlier, maybe this could help his trembling hands. He rolled it back and forth while trying to steady his breathing and remain and still and quiet as possible.

When Denton went and opened the door, he heard it click. Oh, so the kid must have tried to lock the door. I probably should have told him the lock didn't work. Now I'm probably scaring him more Denton thought as he stepped through the doorway. 

"Hey Spot. Everything is fine, I just came to check on you. Are you ok? I know Les and David were being kind of loud earlier and that must have woken you up." Denton called out calmly, his eyes scanning the room. First he noticed the bed, and it seemed well made, almost as if Spot had never slept there. 

All of sudden, he heard a small whimper from the pile of toys, and that was when he noticed a lump under the blanket. Shit, the kid was really scared.

"It's ok buddy. I'm just going to turn the light on real quick, and then I'll sit on the foot of the bed." Denton said slowly and deliberately as to not scare Sean. "Here, I'm sitting right now. I promise I won't be angry. I just need to make sure you're ok. So whenever you feel comfortable coming out, I'm right here."

Spot was still shivering. There was no way Denton couldn't have seen him yet. What if this was a trick? But the position he was in was getting uncomfortable on his back, so slowly he began to sit up. 

Denton watched as Spot began to sit up and remove the blanket from where he was hiding. The kid was literally shaking, and all Bryan wanted to do was to hug him and tell him everything was all right, but right now he knew Spot would get even more freaked out if he did that.

"Hey buddy. I'm right here. It's all good. You can come over here if you want. I just need to make sure you're ok. I promise I'll tell you everything I do before I begin to move." Denton said as he tried to coax Sean into coming closer.

He watched as Sean began to approach him fearfully with the blanket still wrapped around him like a cape for protection. He was still shaking like a leaf, but for now, the whimpering had stopped. 

Spot slowly began to make his way so that he was sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Denton. He needed to be ready for anything, but so far the man hadn't moved like he promised.

"It's ok. You're safe here. I promise no one will hurt you in this home, Spot." Denton told him calmly. "David and Les didn't mean to wake you up this morning, it was just a bit of an accident."

So maybe everything was going to be ok. Though it was still too early for Spot to judge that. Maybe this Denton guy, really was safe. He didn't seem angry at all, more concerned, and with that, Spot began to scoot closer to him, as if telling him it was ok to begin to move.

As Spot started inching closer to him, Denton took that as his queue to begin speaking again.

"Aww buddy. Do you need a hug? It's ok if you're not ready for that yet." Denton asked him, hoping to provide some comfort.

Spot froze there for a second. He desperately wanted someone to hold him close, but he still didn't know if it was safe.

After a couple of tense moments, Denton watched Spot slowly begin to nod his head up and down. So he began to open his arms slowly. Minutely, he saw Spot flinch, but then he shot himself forward.

Denton made sure to squeeze Spot firmly, not to soft, but definitely, not too tight. The kid seemed to really enjoy that, so for a couple of seconds, they sat there enjoying the embrace. But in an instant, the kid began to pull away, once he saw Les in the doorway.

Les was getting hungry, and his dad had been taking longer than five minutes to go check on Spot. He just wanted his pancakes, and Davey wasn't good at cooking at all.

"Hey dad." Les said, completely unaware of the situation. "I'm hungry, and you said you'd make us pancakes."

So that was why Sean had pulled away. He filed it in his head for later that Spot really enjoyed hugs, and that he was definitely touch starved.

"That I did, Les, didn't I." He chuckled. "Spot, want to join us for pancakes in the kitchen, they won't be done for like 10 minutes, but you're happy to come keep us company. Les, why don't you go run ahead and tell Davey, I'll be out in a moment."

"Fine, but you better be out." Les responded as he ran back to the kitchen.

"Sorry about him." Denton told Spot as he refocused his attention. "We'd be happy to have you join us out there. You don't have to eat pancakes or anything. I have more pediasures in the cupboard if you want another one, and we have other food too." 

Spot just nodded his head, and stood up to follow Denton out the door. He couldn't believe his luck. Two meals in a row, and he hadn't even done anything. He took a quick glance at the clock in the hallway, and when he saw the time, he couldn't believe it was only 6 in the morning. Wow, Les wakes up really early. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler chapter. The next few chapters are definitely going to be pretty important, I promise. There more characters will be introduced, and that's where you'll meet Spot's brother.


	8. Breakfast (Spot)

Spot took a seat at the kitchen table along with Les and David. It was his same seat from the previous night, and honestly, he was a little excited. Sure, he wasn't sure exactly what pancakes were, but from the way Les was talking about them, he was definitely looking forward to them. David on the other hand, the guy just looked really tired. He couldn't blame him though, 6 am was early, no matter who you were. 

"Dad, can we have something to drink? I'm thirsty." Les called out to his dad, in the midst of making pancakes.

"Sure, go ahead. Why don't you show Spot some of the options we have in the fridge." Denton called back. "Oh, and Spot, if you want, you can grab anything from the cabinet you want."

Really, he could? Maybe he wouldn't need to hoard food anymore, Spot thought wistfully. He got up and followed Les. The kid sure was a ball of energy for getting up so early. 

"Come over here, we have everything." Les said opening the fridge. "What do you want?"

Spot began to look around the fridge. They sure did have a lot of food. But he didn't really know what he wanted. Maybe water, but he couldn't see any bottles from where he was standing.

"Do you have any water?" Spot asked Les timidly.

"Of course we do!" Les responded back excitedly. "But don't you want anything more fun?"

"Les, calm down. He can have water if he wants." Denton replied back from across the kitchen saving Spot. "We have more strawberry drinks in the cabinet too, if you want Spot."

Spot just nodded his head. Les grabbed a small plastic cup and filled it with water for him and handed it back. Then he grabbed two more cups, one being filled with milk, and the other chocolate milk. He watched as Les took a big gulp out of the chocolate milk, and then proceed to chocolate syrup to it. Spot supposed the regular milk was for David.

Les then headed back to the table happily in await of pancakes.

Spot decided to risk it. He headed over to the cabinet and grabbed another strawberry pediasure, and then snuck a couple more granola bars into his back pocket. He didn't clear the box out at all, but he made sure to grab a few in case he needed them later. Sure, he was beginning to trust Denton an all, but it couldn't hurt to have some food stashed away.

As he headed back to the table with his water and strawberry drink, he saw that the pancakes had already been placed on the table. Denton appeared to be sitting at the head with his own glass of orange juice and was happily eating breakfast with Les and David. There was a plate already set out for him along with toppings.

As he took a seat, he grabbed a two pancakes, unsure about how many he could take. Les seemed to have grabbed as many as could fit on the plate, while David had grabbed just a few like him. 

"Spot you came back!" Les shouted excitedly. "I missed you."

"You just saw him Les, plus, can you tone it down a bit, it's still really early." Davey huffed from across the table. 

"Yeah, but, that doesn't mean I can't be excited to see him." Les said happily, though quieter this time.

Spot watched as Les tried to pour more syrup on his pancakes, but Denton stopped him. 

"Les, hold it there champ. You're already drinking chocolate milk, do you really need any more sugar?" Denton asked him.

"Of course, it makes everything taste better." Les responded, in a duh sort of tone.

Spot decided to eat his pancakes plain just in case Denton decided he wasn't allowed to have any syrup. And he had to admit, they were really good.

Once they were finished up with breakfast, which was really good, Denton grabbed everyone's plates and headed to the sink to go and set them there to wash for later.

"Hey, boys, why don't you guys go and get ready for school. But umm Spot, can you hold back for a second?" Denton called out.

Was he in trouble? Did he do anything wrong. What did Denton want with him? Spot thought nervously as he watched Les scamper away to his room and Davey wonder off tiredly.

A couple moments later, Denton came back holding up a backpack. Was this for him? He had never really had any proper school supplies for school before. 

"Here, I picked this up yesterday when I went shopping. It isn't much, and we can go out shopping for more later, but this is a start." Denton told him as he handed him the backpack.

Spot couldn't believe his luck. The backpack was red, and honestly, it was a lot nicer than the one he already owned. 

"Thanks, sir." Spot told him earnestly. 

"No problem. It was my pleasure. We can always go out and grab something more personal this weekend if you want, when we go shopping. Now why don't you go and get ready for school today. Normally I wouldn't have you go to school so early, but I thought it might be nice to get into routine as soon as possible."

Denton watched as Spot looked up at him with a small smile on his face before he scampered off to his room.

When Spot got to his room, he immediately opened his new gift. Inside were a couple of folders and notebooks. Everything seemed to be nicely color coordinated too, which was nice. He also found a pencil case with a couple of pens and pencils and even an eraser. This was too nice. Maybe he would actually be ready for school, today. 

He decided to get ready, grabbing his other pair of pants and his favorite shirt. It was a long sleeve red stripped shirt that was nice and soft with no tags. So to say he wore it a lot, would be an understatement. The pants he grabbed were kind of big on him, and he knew it looked dorky to wear suspenders, but honestly he needed them to keep his pants up. He just hoped no one at school would bug him about it.

God, starting a new school always sucked. He had never really stayed in one place long enough to finish an entire year with the same teachers, and honestly, this move proved no different. He would be starting all over in like the middle of October, but he doubted he would even finish the school year here. While this new family seemed nice and all, he knew they would grow sick of him eventually.

After getting dressed and getting ready, he decided to also grab the weird ball Denton had given him last night. It provided him comfort for some reason, but he really wasn't sure why. Then he headed out to the family room again, as he heard Les and David pass by all ready to start the day.

Around his neck, David had an actual pair of headphones on. He wasn't really sure at this point to be honest. Last night he thought the things he was wearing were headphones, but then Denton had called them ear defenders or something. It wasn't a big deal or anything, Spot was just curious. However, it didn't really matter. Les on the other hand, was bouncing off the walls chattering up a storm about what he was going to learn about today in school. Honestly, it seemed easier to tune him out than listen to his rambling.

Denton had three lunches in his hand. He hadn't been exactly sure what to pack for Spot, but honestly, the boy seemed fine eating anything. Of course he remembered to pack him some carrots.

Spot watched as Les and David each grabbed a lunch from Denton with their name on it, but Spot was kind of surprised he got one too. Usually families just left him on the free lunch program because it was cheaper and they didn't really care about him. Maybe this meant, that Denton really did care, I mean he no longer had to eat a cold cheese sandwich at least today. Those were disgusting, but at least they were food. 

"Well boys, it seems like it is time to head to school now. I trust you guys to walk on your own. David, make sure to drop Les off. And Les, please don't forget this." Denton said as he handed Les what looked to be a foam ball. "Your teacher called me yesterday saying you forgot it."

"Sorry dad." Les said a bit embarrassed. 

"No big deal, I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget today." Denton reminded him calmly. He then turned his attention to David and Spot. "David, please make sure to say hello and good morning to Sarah for me today. Tell her I love her, and that she better come home tonight. I feel like Katherine and her dad get to see her more than I do now a days."

"Yes dad, I will." David replied.

"Oh and Spot, no pressure today. David should show you all around school today and be there to help you out."

"Of course dad." David said in a bored tone. "But I have friends too, they should be able to help."

"Of course buddy, just make sure none of them scare Spot off, you know how rambunctious they can be." Denton replied.

"I know, I know. Love you dad, have a good day." David said, impatiently wanting to leave for school already.

"Yeah, bye dad. Love you!" Les said excitedly as he ran over to hug Denton.

"I guess that's it. Have a good day guys, love you. Oh and Spot, if you need to, you can always head down to the office today and I'll come and pick you up if it gets to be too much." Denton told them all sincerely.

Spot just nodded his head, not sure if Denton really meant it, or if he was just saying it.

* * *

After walking a couple of blocks, Spot trailing behind the two brothers, they arrived at a school. David hugged his brother goodbye and sent him on his way.

"Bye Les, love you, Make sure to behave today and learn something." David called out.

"Of course I will, silly" Les called back. "Love you David, oh and bye Spot." 

Spot was taken aback, maybe Les really did like him. 

After waiting with David as he watched to make sure Les entered the building safely, they made their way on to the high school next. Something he was not looking forward to.

They stopped in front of a pretty nice looking school, well nicer than he had ever been to anyway. When they entered, David muttered something that he wanted to see his boyfriend before he took Spot to the main office. Which was fine by him, honestly, anything to delay another start at a new school, was fine in his book.

They walked for about a minute before stopping at a set of lockers.

"Hey, Jack. I missed you." David called out to the guy standing there. 

The guy turned around, and Spot couldn't believe his eyes. It was really him.

"Sean, is that really you?" Jack whispered out, he couldn't believe their luck.

Spot just nodded, kind of surprised, but really more thankful than anything. Before he realized it, he had run up to hug Jack, just like when they were younger.

"Jackie I missed you." Spot said as he sobbed into his shoulder. Both of them not wanting to let go.

"I know, brother. I missed you too." Jack said with tears in his eyes.


	9. School (Jack)

Jack woke up to someone knocking on his door.

"Jack, baby. You have to get up. School's gonna start soon." Medda said as she knocked on his door.

Did he really stay up that late last night? He didn't think it was that late, but time does fly when he paints. He could hear Crutchie and Race getting ready downstairs, so he knew the shower was clear. He wanted to just take a quick one to wash his hair because there was apparently paint in it from last night. While he wouldn't normally mind, he knew his boyfriend Davey didn't like it. 

He was in and out of the shower. Honestly, he just needed to cut his hair because it was getting long again. He was tired of having to push his bangs out of his eyes constantly. The only reason he had decided to grow it out was because he wanted to see how long he could actually grow it. Turns out it is annoying to maintain, but what the hell did he know about doing hair.

As he walked downstairs to grab breakfast for the road, since he had woken up late, he saw both Race and Crutchie scrambling to do their dishes. That's the one nice thing about cereal bars for breakfast, it means no dishes. 

Then it was time to head to school, he grabbed his backpack as he, Crutchie, and Race left Medda's apartment. 

"Hey Jack. Fancy seeing you this morning." Crutchie joked with him.

"Yeah, yeah, I just woke up late today. Sheesh." Jack retorted back.

"You know Jack, Davey's gonna be upset if one day you're late and not there to see him before school." Race joined in.

"Whatever guys, I'se not late today, am I?" Jack said.

"Didn't he say something about getting another foster brother yesterday?" Crutchie asked changing the subject.

"He did. I just hope the new kid isn't a pain in the ass or anything." Jack replied back.

"Sure, and you're not a pain in the ass." Race joked, bumping shoulders with Jack a bit.

"Ey, shut up. I know Davey's only got room for one pain in the ass, and that's spot's already been taken by me." Jack quipped back.

"Whatever you say, Jackie boy." Charlie laughed.

"Hey, guys, can you give me a break for one second. It's like the minute I'se become your brother, you decide to gang up on me." Jack joked as he faked a bit of hurt.

"Nah man, once you're a part of the Larkin clan, there's no escaping us. We love you too much Jackie boy." Race joked, pulling in Jack for an over-dramatic hug.

"Sheesh, at least don't call me Jackie, you know I don't like it." Jack said, as his heart panged a bit. That nickname was reserved for his brother, who he hoped one day to find. He missed Spot, they got split up a couple of years ago, and then lost contact.

Crutchie noticing Jack's smile drop a bit. "Hey man, we'se sorry." Crutchie said as he whacked Race with one of his crutches.

"Nah, it's fine guys. I still love you." Jack said as he put on the goofiest smile he could.

"That's good, I couldn't survive an entire day with you'se hating me." Race said as he dramatically fell from relief.

Jack and Crutchie just laughed at his antic as they finished their walk to school. Well walk for them, Race was constantly running all over every time something caught his eye. Honestly, that boy couldn't hold still. He reminded Jack a lot of Davey's little brother Les. 

As they entered the school, Jack told his brothers to run along as he went to meet Davey at his locker.

"Ooh, you guys gonna go make out" Race said as he made kissy faces at Jack.

"Maybe, you never know" Jack replied with a smirk.

That got both Race and Crutchie laughing, but they left without much of a fight. After all, the cafeteria is usually where they met up with most of their friends anyway, so they headed that way.

Jack started walking off towards his locker, when he decided to send a text to Davey telling him to meet him there. 

"Hey Davey, meet me by my locker."

"Umm, ok, is everything all right?"

"It's all good, I just missed you last night." 

"We saw each other yesterday at school, silly."

"I know, but still."

"Dork"

Jack decided to put his phone in his pocket and put some of his books in his locker. The school he went to know honestly made them carry around too many books. He didn't know how Davey did it, managing so many classes. The textbook weight alone would kill him. 

"Hey Jack, I missed you." he heard Davey call. He turned around, and he couldn't believe his eyes. 

"Sean, is that you?" He finally stuttered out.

Apparently neither could his brother. But the silence was quickly broken, as he felt Sean launch himself into his arms, sobbing.

"Jackie I missed you." Spot said, while they were both hugging each other.

He couldn't believe it. They had been split up after a particularly bad home a couple years back, and that was the last time they had heard from each other. Maybe this new foster brother of Davey's wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I know brother. I missed you too." Jack said with tears in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of Jack's point of view. I promise, the next chapter will be way longer.


	10. Reunion (Jack And Spot)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet again.

Neither of the brothers could believe it. It had been so long. The plan had been for them to stick together, and for Jack to eventually get custody of Sean, but that never ended up happening. After being kicked out of a foster home early due to the parents not liking Spot, their social worker Carlos had decided to split them up as punishment. Jack never blamed Sean, never, it wasn't his fault. And eventually, Carlos ended up dropping him to, meaning he lost contact with Sean completely. Luckily, a nicer woman had picked Jack up, and the rest was history. He was fostered by Medda for a couple of years, and actually, just a couple of weeks ago, it was made official. He was adopted.

Sean on the other hand, he didn't look to be so lucky. The kid hadn't grown much since the last time Jack saw him, and he was definitely more anxious. But that didn't matter at the moment, all that really mattered is that they were together again.

"I thought I'se never see you again." Spot whispered into Jack's shoulder.

Honestly, both of them were too happy to let go of each other at the moment.

"Me too, after we got split up, I'se thought I lost you forever." Jack agreed.

David, feeling kind of awkward just standing there, cleared his throat. "So you guys already know each other?"

Jack and Spot let go of their hug, though made sure to keep close.

Clearing his throat, Jack responded "Yeah, this is my brother Sean. We lost contact a few years ago, and I guess now you guys have him."

"Yeah, you're right. Umm, I can leave you guys here, if you want to catch up." David said, kind of unsure how to handle the situation.

Spot kept his head down, though he was still glued to Jack's side.

"You sure? It's fine if you want to stay." Jack responded, smiling a bit.

"No, no, it's fine. I have to go, umm, find Sarah anyway." David said as he began to walk towards the cafeteria. "Just make sure to take Spot to the front office to grab his schedule for today." 

"Thanks man, love you Davey." Jack called after him. 

Honestly, today was the best day ever. 

"So, what have you been up to little bro, while we've been apart?" Jack asked as he sat down against the lockers with his brother.

"Nothing much." Spot mumbled. He took something out of his pockets and began rolling it back and forth between his hands. "I missed you." he said catching Jack's eye for a second.

"I missed you too. It's been too long, right?" Jack said as he thought about how many nights in the past he had wished his brother was right there with him. "But now we're together again. So that's good." he said trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess, I guess." Spot hummed in agreement. He reached out to grab Jack's hand like they used to do when they were younger, and for a couple of seconds they just sat there. Their backs against the lockers, squeezing each others palms, trying to catch up for lost time. 

Finally, Spot broke the silence. "You smell different from what I remember." He said nervously.

"Heh. Yeah." Jack smiled at what Sean said. "If anything, I probably smell better. No more sweaty sock smell for me I guess. I'se matured into a fine young man." He joked.

Spot cracked a smile at that. Jack used to love wearing his old socks, said it gave him a manly scent.

"A fine young man." Spot repeated, giggling a bit as he said that. 

"Hey don't laugh at me." Jack said smiling. Turning towards Sean to poke him in the side like he used to, hoping to get another laugh out of him.

Spot just flinched. Neither said anything about it, just kind of left it be. I mean, what could they say about it.

Spot leaned his head against Jack's shoulder, and for the first time in a while was content just being at school.

Jack did the same. And for a while they just sat there.

They were lucky. Jack's locker was in a pretty quiet hallway of the school, meaning no one was there to disturb them.

A couple minutes later, Jack felt his phone vibrate. He grabbed it out of his pocket. It was just a message from Medda reminding him to have a good day. He was about to turn it off when he saw the time.

"Oh shit. School starts in like 10 minutes. I gotta get you to the office." Jack said, standing up along with Spot. "I guess now is a good time to give you a tour of the school."

Spot just nodded. His time with Jack would be up soon. He stared down at the floor, though they were still holding hands.

Jack sensed Spot getting upset. He would never say it, but he could just tell as his head was down. So he gave Spot a quick squeeze, and tried to cheer him up.

"But don't worry about it. We'll see each other in no time." He started up a monologue to fill the silence that fell between them as they walked to the main office. "Lunch is at 12 here, and everyone eats together."

Spot glanced up for a second, confused as to why Jack was talking about lunch.

They could hear voices begin to pick up down the hallway, so they both kind of dropped each other's hand, not wanting to be bullied about it.

"What about lunch?" Spot mumbled.

"Well, if we all have lunch at the same time, then we can eat together. You can sit at the table with us today, or we can find ourselves our own quiet table and catch up some more." Jack said happily.

"I don't know." Spot said as he shrugged his shoulders. He just wished he and Jack could spend the entire day together and not have to worry about school.

"Here we are!" Jack said grandly, as he opened the door for Spot into the main office. "This is where are tour officially starts, I guess."

Spot just followed him in. Great, the faster he got his schedule, the faster he and Jack had to split up once again.

They walked up to the front counter to speak with the secretary.

"Hello Miss..." Jack trailed off for a second as he read the nameplate on the woman's desk. "Lindsay. Umm, I was wondering if I could pick up my brother's schedule. He's new here today."

"Of course dear, and what would your name be?" She asked looking kindly at Spot.

"Sean, m'am" Spot replied back nervously.

"Sean, ok. Sean, do you have a last name?" She asked as she began looking through her files.

Spot bit his lip nervously, umm what should he tell her. Thankfully Jack saved him.

Noticing his brother's nervousness. "Yeah, it should be under Denton. He's staying with Davey and his family." Jack responded.

"Ahh, here it is." Miss Lindsay said as she pulled the piece of paper out. "Do you need anyone showing you to your first period?"

"No, it's quite alright. I got that." Jack said as he flashed a smile and grabbed Sean's schedule from her.

"Thank you" Spot said quietly as they began to head out the door again.

"No problem honey, your father, er, foster father said you're free to come down to the office any time if you needed to today." The secretary called out nicely as they left.

"So let's see who you have for homeroom and first period." Jack said inspecting Spot's new schedule. "Nice, you have a study hall with Mr. Kloppman. That should be a fun way to start your day." He said with his usual wink and a smile.

Spot just nodded. At least he didn't have any super hard class first period.

They began walking in the direction Spot assumed his homeroom would be.

"Mr. Kloppman is nice, don't worry about him." Jack announced happily. "I think Racer has him too at the same time with you."

Spot looked up at Jack confused. "Who's Racer?"

"Oh, sorry about that. Racer is my foster brother at the home I'm in right now. Well, I guess now official brother." Jack said. "He's real nice don't worry."

"You're adopted" Spot said sadly. He had just gotten his brother back, only to realize, he was already out of the system.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. That doesn't change anything between us. I still love you the most, and you know it." he said, bopping Sean on the nose playfully.

Spot smiled, swiping his hand away. "I guess."

"Think about it kid. We've been together the longest, and that means I'se never letting go of you." Jack said, pulling in Sean for a big hug.

"Ok, ok." Spot said giggling at his brother's antics. He missed this.

They were at the doorway of a classroom, when Jack put him down. "Here you are, my lovely brother." Jack told him. "Let's see if Race is already in there. I'll introduce you guys."

Jack peered his head inside, hoping to catch sight of the blonde hair that was his brother. He finally spotted him talking in the corner with someone.

"Hey, Race, get over here." Jack called out, beckoning Race over.

"What d'ya want Jack?" Race called back running over.

"Ooh, and who is this?" Race said looking at Spot.

"This is my brother, Sean." Jack said happily giving Spot a little nudge forward.

"Is this Sean, as in like your brother, Sean?" Race asked in disbelief.

Spot just stood there blushing with his head down. He hoped this wouldn't be too awkward.

"You betcha! Hey, I'll catch you later. I gotta run to class before I'm late. Take care of him for me please. Bye guys, love you Sean." Jack said already heading out of the classroom.

This just felt weird. Spot was still nervous, and Jack had just kind of abandoned him with someone he didn't know. 

"So Sean, I see you already met Jack." Race said happily, dragging him to the corner table he was sitting at. The other boy he was talking with from earlier seemed to have left, so it was just Race and Spot in the back.

Spot just nodded. 

Race being the outgoing guy he was, decided that he liked Sean. 

"You'll love this class. Well, it's really a study hall, but honestly the guy who runs it is really nice. He kind of walks around from time to time and helps you if you need help in any classes, or just want some good life advice. Sure he's kind of old, but he is funny." Race said, hoping to get Sean to look up at him. The kid seemed kind of closed off, but if he was family to Jack, then he was family to Race as well.

Spot began to fiddle with something in his hand. Race could see him rolling a spiky ball back and forth in between his palms. Isn't that something Davey liked to do, he didn't really know.

"Hey Sean. What's that?" he asked pointing at the ball. "It that one of those fidget things that Davey likes to use as well?" Race asked curiously.

Spot didn't really know. Denton had handed it to him last night, and he didn't really ask any questions. He just kind of shrugged his shoulders. "Name's Spot." He said after a couple of moments. He didn't like the name Sean. People always called him that when he was in trouble, made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Race took the queue. "So Spot, how are you liking school so far?"

Again Spot just shrugged, he hadn't been here that long to get any real opinion on it. Luckily he was saved by the first bell going off. It was kind of loud, but he supposed they were supposed to be.

Mr. Kloppman liked to walk around to take attendance. He didn't really like the traditional alphabetical name calling because it felt too formal. So when he got to Race and Sean in the back, he introduced himself.

"Hello Sean. Welcome to my homeroom and study hall. I see you've already met Race." Mr. Kloppman said taking an empty seat at the table to say hello.

Spot just nodded, not really caring to lift his head up.

"He prefers the name Spot." Race suddenly blurted out.

That made Sean blush again. Most of the time teacher's didn't enjoy when students tried to use nicknames.

"Oh, sorry Spot." Mr. Kloppman said sincerely. "Well, if you ever need any help, I'm always available. I trust Race to help you get settled in here." he said as he walked towards his desk again.

Maybe this school wouldn't be that bad. Spot hoped, at least, that every teacher was like Mr. Kloppman, but he highly doubted it. 

"So I've got a some homework to finish up still, but we can compare schedules for a bit if you'd like." Race said taking out his own beaten up schedule.

"Sure." Spot agreed quietly. He grabbed his schedule from the pocket of his backpack he had folded it up and set it in earlier. 

"This is mine" Race said sliding his over. Spot did the same, putting it on the table so they could compare.

Race: 

Homeroom/Period 1 - Study Hall - Mr. Kloppman

Period 2 - English - Mr. Jones

Period 3 - World History - Mrs. Thompson

Period 4 - Biology - Miss. Duncan

Period 5 - Lunch

Period 6 - Algebra I - Mr. Brady

Period 7 - Gym

Period 8 - Home Ec/Resource

Spot:

Homeroom/Period 1 - Study Hall - Mr. Kloppman

Period 2 - English - Mr. Jones

Period 3 - World History - Mrs. Thompson

Period 4 - Biology - Miss. Duncan

Period 5 - Lunch

Period 6 - Geometry - Miss. Spencer

Period 7 - Gym

Period 8 - Resource

"Cool, so we almost have the same schedule. At the end of the day, the last 'class' is resource, but you can drop it and transfer into another elective if you want." Race said, looking over both schedules. "This should be a fun year, Spot."

Spot smiled. He had already made one friend on first day, which was better than he had ever done before. Granted, it was Jack's brother, but it was still someone. Though he was curious. "What's resource?" he wondered aloud.

"It's something that the school sets up. During like the first month, it's mandatory for all freshman to take cause that's where they have upperclassmen explain the school to you and stuff, but that's over now. I guess, it's kind of like a period where you can choose to take an elective and/or leave it free so you can basically use it as a study hall except, you can also go to teachers for help and stuff." Race replied. "Medda made me sign up for home ec cause she thought it would be beneficial to learn that stuff, except that class only runs a couple of days during the week, so on the days I don't have it, I just have regular resource."

Spot just nodded. To him it just sounded like another study hall, and that was fine by him. The less school he actually had to do, the better. It wasn't that he didn't like learning, it's just he hated sitting through boring classes. He wondered, if him and Race had resource at the same time, did that mean Jack did too. Could he visit him then, too?

"Uh Race. Does everyone have resource at the same time? Like the entire school." Spot asked shyly, though he hoped they did.

"Nah, sorry man. Just the freshman have it at the end of the day. Usually everyone in the same grade has theirs at the same time, so all the teachers are available, but each grade has it at a different time." Race replied helpfully.

Damn. That meant he and Jack could only see each other at lunch. Spot just nodded glumly. He decided to put his head down cause he didn't have anything better to do.

Race took that as his queue to begin his homework. He glanced at the clock, and then back at his schedule. Only 10 more minutes left of study hall anyway.

His next class was English. Great. At least it wasn't math, but that didn't mean it was any easier. Just the thought of sitting in a stuffy room listening to a teacher drone on and on about characters no one really cared about made him anxious. Sure, he didn't really like the class, but he did like doing well in school. Despite what teachers had said in the past, Spot did try really hard in classes. It's just whenever they called on him, it always made him nervous, so then he never ended up saying anything.

Spot ended up just zoning out for the rest of class. He had a lot to think about anyway. He just met up with his brother again, for crying out loud. Also, Jack seemed to like Davey, which probably meant he liked his family. Thus, maybe the family might treat him nicely. 

The bell rang, startling him from his thoughts. That was something he was going to have to get used to. For some reason, this one seemed a lot louder than the one in his old school. Or maybe he was just imagining it. That was probably it. 

He and Race stood up, grabbed their backpacks, and headed out the door. It was time for English. Spot was not excited. All he wanted to do was see Jack again, but lunch felt ages away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more of a ramble than I would have liked, but there was some important stuff in there, I guess. Until next time, bye 👋.


	11. Lunch (Spot)

The first couple periods of the day were uneventful. All of his teachers were pretty nice, but it was still kind of annoying. At least none of them had asked him to introduce himself in front of the class, but the amount of times he had been asked where he was in terms of the curriculum was overwhelming. 

It was nice having a friend in his classes. Race seemed nice enough, but he would never shut up. He just kept talking about whatever came to mind, to a point Spot had asked to go to the bathroom a couple of times just to escape. No doubt the guy was nice and friendly, it's just that he was a lot. 

All throughout English, Race kept droning on and on about how boring the book was and how he would never need to actually know any of this stuff to get a job. And Spot agreed with him, except he also wanted to pass the class, so not caring about the book was really kind of out of the question for him. Though it was interesting to watch how many times Race could slam his head into the desk in boredom and frustration. 

History was better. Spot enjoyed history. The same narrative it told, nothing new being added or changed in the story. However the teacher, she was another thing in itself. Usually for the first few days at school, Spot would just be playing catch up and wouldn't really be expected to complete any of the homework or do any of the actual work until the next unit started, but his history teacher decided that it would be a fun little activity for him to write an essay about everything he knew about history and what he had learned previously. Seriously? And it had to be at least two pages minimum, though it could be double spaced. That still didn't really help his case though, he could barely write anything comprehensible past a paragraph. Let alone an entire essay, and that would be his first impression. If there was any light on the situation, he had until the end of next week to get it done, so that was at least nice.

Biology was kind of a blur. It was literally the only thing standing between him and Jack, so he kind of tuned it out and just decided to watch the clock tick down the minutes. It's not like he was really doing anything. The teacher was just going over what was going to be on the test next week, and Spot was excused from that due to not really learning the unit. 

Finally, the bell rang for lunch. He couldn't wait to see Jack. He picked up his backpack off of the floor and went to follow Race out of the classroom. Until he was stopped by the teacher. 

"Hello. Sean. Can I stay behind for a second?" Miss. Duncan said as she stopped him at the door.

Spot just kind of stood there frozen. He had waited so long to see Jack, and now that was going to be delayed some more. He tried to send Race a frantic glance to wait up, but it seemed the guy had misinterpreted it. He just kind of gave a nod and a smile and ran off. Great, now Spot was stuck here with some teacher he didn't want to know, with no way of actually getting to the cafeteria. 

"Hello, Sean? Want to take a seat for a second." Miss. Duncan asked gesturing over to the chair next to her desk.

"Sure." He muttered as he put his head down, not knowing if he was actually going to be able to see his brother.

He began to walk over to the chair to take a seat. This always happened, something good would finally happen to him, only to be ripped away. He wished he could have left with Race because now Jack probably thinks he's blowing him off. He breath begins to pick up at the thought.

What does she even want with him? They had already gone over where he would pick up in curriculum at the beginning of class, so why was she holding him back? Was he in trouble? Did he do something wrong in class? All he wanted to do was leave and see Jack, but now he was stuck here.

As he took a seat in the chair, he began to weigh his options. Denton told him he could call at any time to be picked up, did this constitute as a reason for wanting to go leave? Just because he wanted to escape a teacher.

Miss. Duncan watched as Sean grew more nervous. His eyes started darting across the room, looking anywhere except at her. 

"Cool, so you're not in trouble or anything." She said, wanting him to relax.

Spot sighed in relief, at least he hadn't done anything wrong, yet. But he knew there was a but coming.

"I just wanted to know how your first day is going?" She asked him.

How your first day is going, how your first day is going, he replayed in his head nervously. After a few moments, he replied, "It's fine." No, it actually wasn't. He was stuck here being interrogated when all he wanted to do was leave.

"Good, good." She said a little too enthusiastically. "I noticed you seemed a little distracted during class today. Is everything all right?" She asked, a little more intently.

Spot froze for a second. What did she actually want? There had to be more to that question. He regretted his decision of bolting to the office. Was it too late now to leave? Did he look nervous, or not ok? He began to pick a bit at his suspenders. A nervous habit he had picked up a while ago. Why had Race just left him? 

Miss. Duncan watched as Spot sat there and processed the question. He was definitely growing more nervous, but she couldn't figure out why. All she had wanted to do was check to see if he was alright, it was his first day and everything.

"I'm fine." Spot eventually replied. Spot didn't know really what to say. Was it appropriate for him to leave for lunch now? They were sitting in silence anyway. He glanced up at the clock. Oh, so it had only been 5 minutes, he still had time to find Jack, if he left now. He was about to ask her if he was free to go, when he heard her begin to speak again.

"That's good. Well, if you need anything, I'm always free to help. Just let me know, ok?" She smiled brightly at him.

And that's when Jack entered through the door, saving Spot.

"Hey there, Miss. Duncan." Jack announced as he walked through the door. "I'm just here to pick up my brother, see if he's alright. Race told me he got hung up a bit after class." 

Spot just nodded, grateful that Jack was here. So Race didn't abandon him, just left to go and get Jack. 

Miss Duncan, smiled sweetly at Sean's older brother. So at least he had someone, she had just wanted to make sure he was ok, after watching how out of place he seemed in class today. "Well, that's nice, uh."

"Jack, m'am." Jack responded with a smile.

"Jack. I was just asking to see how Sean's day was going, seeing as it is his first day and everything. You boys are free to go to lunch now, if you want." She said sweetly.

Sean just got up, and headed over to Jack awkwardly. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything. Though neither of them did, as they left the room.

"So little brother, I see you met the most talkative teacher in the entire school." Jack said, throwing his arm around Spot's shoulders.

Still shaken up from the previous 5 minutes of awkwardness, Spot just nodded.

They walked in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the cafeteria. 

"Well, I have my stuff set down at the lunch table with everyone, so if you want to sit with us, that would be cool. Or if you want it to just be us, I just need to grab my stuff real quick. Either way, the guys don't mind." Jack said as he opened the doors. Though, he did take his arm off from around Spot's shoulder.

"Whatever's good with you." Spot replied quietly, just happy to be able to see Jack again. "I don't want to intrude."

"Nah, you wouldn't intrude." Jack responded with a smile. "The guys would be happy to meet you."

Spot just nodded, so he and Jack headed off towards a table in the corner.

As they drew closer, Spot realized, the table they were headed towards was probably the loudest and most busy one in the entire cafeteria. Great, so this wouldn't be a quiet lunch. Not that he minded, Jack would be with him.

He spotted Race at the table along with David. So at least, he would know more people than just Jack. They took a seat next to what he assumed to be Jack's backpack, and Spot grabbed the lunch that Denton had given him this morning. 

Everyone grew silent at the table as they watched Jack re-emerge with his brother. Eventually David broke the silence, with a "hey, Spot. Glad you could join us."

"Oh, so you go by Spot now." Jack said, making Spot blush. Jack had given him that nickname when they were younger because he had always wanted a dog. And Jack being Jack, instead of getting him a dog, gave him the best next thing he knew what to give, a dog's name. 

"Yeah." Spot said as he nodded, a bit embarrassed. 

"Hey, I like it." Jack said with a wink. "So everyone," he said addressing the entire table. "This here is my brother Spot, who also happens to be living with Davey and Sarah now."

Everyone just kind of chuckled at that.

"Spot, that's Crutchie, you know, cause he's got a crutch." Jack said pointing at a boy across the table from him, who smiled brightly. "You already know Race, no need for me to introduce him again." He said, pointing at Race. 

To that Race just flipped him off. "Yeah, Spotty knows me, we's friends, and practically have the same schedule." Race said with a smile.

"I'm assuming you already know Davey and Sarah," he said pointing at the boy and girl sitting next to him.

Davey just nodded. "He doesn't know me yet, I was at Katherine's house last night." Sarah said, pointing to the girl next to her.

"Of course you were." Everyone groaned in unison around the table. 

"You're practically married." Crutchie said, laughing. "You guys should just do it already."

Katherine, sitting next to him, just smacked him in the back of the head, jokingly.

"Hey, Crutchie, you're one to talk. I could say the same thing about you and Romeo." Sarah shot back. "Oh, by the way, that's Romeo." She said, pointing at the boy sitting next to Crutchie.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The boy named Romeo responded. "At least we're actually together, unlike the two hopeless idiots sitting to my left, Smalls and Finch." As he said each of their names, they both blushed, respectively. Before throwing a fry in his face. 

The girl spoke up. "Yeah, so I'm Smalls, and that's Finch. And NO Romeo, we are not in love."

Everyone at the table just snorted.

Jack muttered under his breath, "They're just in denial." But Spot heard him, and smiled.

"Aww, not you too." Finch groaned, noticing Spot's smile.

Jack cut him off. "And last but not least, that's Specs and Skittery, sitting to your right."

Spot nodded a hello towards them. He assumed the one named Specs, was the one wearing glasses. At least he was't the only one who liked to go by a nickname.

"Hey, what about us?" Two boys said in unison, popping up from under the table.

"Oh yeah. How could I forget about you two weirdos?" Jack said in amusement. "The one with the fiery hair is Albert, and the one next to him is Elmer."

Immediately after being introduced to Spot, they popped back under the table, resuming whatever they were doing under there in the first place. Honestly, Spot didn't really want to know.

After introductions were made, everyone just resumed their usual chatter, and bickering in David and Sarah's case.

Jack gave a quick kiss to David, before turning his attention back to Spot. Not that the other boy seemed to notice, he was too engrossed in his argument with his twin sister to even notice.

"I see you still like carrots." Jack said, looking at the bag of carrots Spot had grabbed out of his lunch.

Spot smiled, so Denton had remembered. "Yeah, not everyone has a sweet tooth like you." he retorted back.

"So I like my candy? But can you blame me? It's so sweet and good." Jack said, taking a bite out of his sandwich Medda had packed him.

"If it were chocolate yeah, but you like the gross things like toffee and peanut brittle." Spot said, laughing. God, he missed being able to joke around with his brother like this.

"Sheesh, go easy on a guy will you?" Jack said, mocking hurt.

Spot shook his head. "Never." He whispered back seriously.

Both of them bursting out laughing a second later.

"So what else you got in there? Anything good?" Jack said gesturing to Spot's lunch box.

"I don't know." Spot replied. "Haven't opened it yet."

"Well, Denton usually packs Davey pretty good lunches, I bet he did the same for you." Jack said, emptying Spot's bag on the table. "Ooh, a turkey sandwich. Classic. Eh, nothing real good, except this." Jack said, hiding something behind his back.

Spot looked up. If it was good enough for Jack to take, what was it? "Hey, give it back." he said, giving Jack a bit of a playful shove. 

"Oh, it's nothing." Jack said, pretending to be all innocent. "Just a juice box," he said, slamming it back on the table as a joke.

Spot loved juice boxes. Actually, anything fruit flavored, and he was usually in. He hadn't had one in a while, and when he did get one, it was usually a treat. Huh, this Denton guy, sure didn't seem that bad. Spot just smiled, immediately puncturing the straw into it and taking a big drink. Ahh, that was good. 

Jack just smiled, watching his brother enjoy some juice. He remembered when they were younger, and how he used to give Spot his juice boxes because he knew the kid liked them that much. Plus, it was fun watching how his face would just light up. Apparently, nothing had changed, which was fun to watch.

"Hey, Jack." Race called out, over to him.

"Yeah, whatcha need?" Jack asked.

"So your brother and I don't have the same class next. I was wondering if you knew anyone who did." Race called back. 

At this point, Spot's attention was pulled from his juice at the sound of Jack and Race talking about him.

"What class?" Jack asked.

"Geometry" Spot said.

"Ooh, taking an advanced math class." Jack said stealing a bite of the sandwich, which Spot had abandoned for the carrots. Oh, it had mustard, that's why he stopped eating it.

Spot blushed, before responding. "Yeah, apparently at my last school, I qualified for the class due to some weird program at another middle school."

Jack rubbed his shoulder, affectionately, "No need to justify it to me man, I always knew you were smart. You used to work so hard in school when we were younger, now it's just paying off. Look at me, I got myself two smartie pants." He said as he threw his arm around Davey and stole another bite of Spot's sandwich. It didn't matter anyway, Spot wasn't gonna eat it, and Jack wasn't going to let a perfectly good sandwich go to waste.

Spot and David just blushed. Both trying to get the attention off of themselves. 

"Hey, anyone got geometry next period?" Jack through out to the rest of the table, hoping someone would reply with a yes, so his brother wouldn't be all alone.

"Aww, Jack, I'm hurt. I'm your brother, and you don't even know my schedule." Crutchie said from across the table.

"Give me a break." Jack shot back, with a smile. "Well, uh Spot, looks like you have someone to take you to math."

That was good. At least he would know someone. Even if it was Jack's other brother. It saddened him to think that Jack had found a family, and he was still in the system, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it.

Jack could sense Spot's mood dip, so he gave him a hug. Luckily, no one at the table noticed, or if they did, they didn't really care. "Don't worry about Crutchie. The kid doesn't have a mean bone in his body." Jack said trying to cheer up Spot.

Spot lightened up a bit, for Jack's sake. He didn't want his brother worrying about him. Plus at least he knew someone in every one of his classes, which was a lot more than he could say about anyone of his previous schools. Plus, if Jack trusted him, then so could Spot. 

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and everyone grabbed their backpack from off the ground and got up to leave.

"Hey, you didn't think you could escape without saying good bye to me?" Jack asked with a smile.

Spot turned around, blushing. "No, love you Jack. I'se so glad I found you again." he said grabbing Jack's hand like when they were younger.

Jack caught his brother's eyes, and the unasked question was clear to him. "Hey, I'm going to see you Monday, right? No need to get sad. Plus, that's if I don't come over this weekend. I mean, me and Davey are kind of dating. And you are living with him and his family." Jack said, with a smile, though it was clear he was also sad about splitting up from his brother. "But seriously. I love you brother, and I'se glad to have finally found you again too."

They gave each other one last squeeze of the hands, and Jack left out the opposite set of doors to class, while Spot turned and caught up with Crutchie, to follow him to math.


	12. The End Of The Day (Spot)

As they left the cafeteria, Spot just followed silently behind Crutchie. Today had been a good day. Scratch that, today had been a great day. And, he would hopefully be able to see Jack again soon, if Denton didn't give him away. But honestly, things were looking up, so it didn't look like any time soon Spot would be moving. 

When they stepped inside the classroom, Spot quickly realized he was the only freshman in the room. The rest of the people around him all seemed to be Crutchie's age. Which was fine, as long as he stayed unnoticed in the back, everything usually went well. However, Crutchie decided to take a spot right up front, so that left a bit of a dilemma. Should Spot follow him and sit next to him, or should he grab his usual spot in the back. The decision was made pretty quick when Crutchie patted the desk next to him, ushering Spot to sit down. Hopefully, as long as he kept his head down, he should be able to stay under the radar, after all, no one likes a know it all freshman in their class. 

"Hey, Spot, sit up here with me." Crutchie said smiling. Jack had mentioned his brother was shy a couple of times in the past, but Crutchie hadn't realized the kid would be this quiet. Though, that didn't bother Crutchie. 

Spot just complied, hoping no one would really notice him. Curse the middle school he went to that decided to teach Algebra I early. Though, it was kind of hard to ignore the stares he was getting. Of course, being a whole 4'10" didn't really help his case. Maybe if he made himself look as unapproachable as possible, people would leave him alone.

"Well, what do we have here, Morris?" A guy asked moving up behind him along with what looked to be his brother.

"Lay off him Oscar." Crutchie shot back, his mood flipping from happy to annoyed.

"And what are ya gonna do about it, ya crip?" The guy named Oscar replied, cracking his knuckles.

Crutchie just glared. He didn't like the Delancy brothers, though not many people did. They were just two mean bullies that enjoyed terrorizing people for fun.

Spot shrunk back in his chair, hoping that maybe if he didn't engage, then they would just go away.

After a couple seconds of intense staring, the kid who Oscar addressed as Morris began to speak.

"Well, what do you say we teach this new kid and our good pal Crutchie here a bit of a lesson about respect, Oscar?" Morris growled out, taking a step closer to Crutchie.

At this point, Spot knew the day wasn't going to end well. Maybe if he left now, then he wouldn't get hurt today. But that would probably result in an even worse beating at some point later, so Spot knew it was out of the question. Also, if he left Crutchie all on his own, then maybe Jack would get mad at him for abandoning his brother. 

"Then I'll tell Jack." Crutchie ground out through his teeth venomously. "I think he would enjoy setting you guys straight again." Crutchie laughed darkly as he watched the Delancy brothers pale considerably and scamper off.

Cool, so maybe Spot wouldn't be getting beat up after school today.

The bell rang about a second after, and when Spot looked over, Crutchie was back to his usual happy, smiling self. If Spot was being honest, he kind of enjoyed Crutchie's laid back personality in contrast to Race's constant energy.

The teacher took attendance, and the class begun. They were beginning a new chapter today, which meant Spot actually had to pay attention, sadly. Though, it was a nice change of pace considering he had been pretty much bored out of his mind during his past classes today.

The class finished without any more problems, and he followed Crutchie out the door. The kid was nice, studious just like he was. Though, he felt a bit of a pang in his heart. What if Jack had replaced him with Crutchie? Would he really do that? For the past couple of years, he hadn't had any contact with him at all, and now Jack seemed really close with Crutchie. 

"Hey, Spottie, I found you." Race called out excitedly, as he stepped outside the classroom, snapping him out of his thoughts. "So, how was math? Did Crutchie bore you have to death?" Race asked nosily.

"No, class was fine." Spot replied back softly. He didn't want to tell Race this, but he kind of enjoyed being with the calmer presence of Crutchie, over him.

"Well, that's good." Race replied, bouncing all over like his normal self. "Are you ready for gym? It should be pretty fun today, we're running on the track." 

Spot didn't know how anyone would find that fun, at all. Exercise just sucked in general. Though, he didn't want to make Race mad, so he just nodded, hoping to escape the fact that he hated running. Seriously, who likes running?

"That's good. I was afraid you were gonna be like Jack and Crutchie. Both of them hate running. Well, Jack does at least, Crutchie can't really." Race went off, babbling excitedly about how he enjoyed feeling the wind in his hair.

Great. Spot couldn't get out of the lie, now, could he? Maybe he could fake an injury and get out of it. Plus, he didn't even have a gym uniform. Maybe that would exempt him too. 

They got to the locker room, Race even more excited than ever now. God, that kid didn't seem to have an off switch. He kept his backpack on, as he waited for Race to change. It's not like he even had a locker or a uniform, what did it matter.

They walked out, into the gym, and took a seat, waiting for the teacher to begin attendance. However, noticing Spot, the teacher began to walk over towards them.

"Hello, Sean right?" The guy said, extending his hand.

Spot didn't really want to shake it, so he just nodded his head, keeping his eyes down, hoping the guy would get the message.

After a brief pause. "Cool, so I got an email from your foster father, excusing you from gym until you got a uniform and a doctor's note." He said awkwardly.

To which Race replied, as he had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation. "Aww, man. You said you liked running Spot. Can't he run with me teach?"

Spot got kind of flustered. He really hoped the teacher would say he couldn't because he really didn't want to run today. 

Luckily, the teacher saved him. "Sorry, Race. His foster father made it very clear he probably shouldn't." He said, giving Sean a wink.

Good, Spot let out a sigh of relief. But what did that wink mean? Eh, he'd probably worry about it later. 

Race looked kind of sad, once he realized Spot wouldn't be running with him today, but he cheered up once the coach announced to the entire class that he had set up hurdles for anyone that wanted to try them out. 

Once gym was over, it was time for resource, aka, second study hall. Spot didn't really have anything to do that period, and Race had to head off to home ec, so he headed back to Mr. Kloppman's class. Race said he was nice, so he figured the guy wouldn't have a problem if he crashed there for the period.

Once he got there, he realized it was only him and the teacher in the room. Which was kind of weird, but at least that meant it would be quiet. He debated leaving school early, but figured Denton probably had better things to do with his life, so he decided against it. Plus, he would be out of here soon enough. Spot sat at the same table he had, when he had gotten there for homeroom, and just put his head down and decided to rest.

Today had been a lot. First, he was woken up at the butt crack of dawn, and hadn't really gotten much sleep the night before, meaning he was exhausted. Then, he found his brother, Jack. Which, he was incredibly thankful for, but also sad about. When they were younger, they used to dream about the day Jack would age out of the system and would take Spot with him. They would finally be together and would have a say in there lives, but then they got split up and everything changed. Sure, he was happy for Jack that he got adopted, but at the same time, it meant they wouldn't be together, not legally at least. Plus, who knows. Maybe Jack won't want anything to do with him once he turns 18, spot thought wistfully. He has a real family anyway. The thought of Jack, not wanting him broke Spot's heart. And before he realized it, tears had begun to fall.

Mr. Kloppman watched as his newest student entered the room. Sean, err, Spot was quiet. That's for sure. He hadn't really known what to think of the kid. He had just transferred into the school the day before, something about moving to an emergency placement in foster care. Honestly, he didn't read the email that closely. All he knew, is that when the kid walked through the door that morning, it was not what he was expecting. Granted, he didn't know what to expect. But he sure didn't expect a small, unhealthily skinny kid to walk through those doors. Not to mention the fact that he was riddled with anxiety. Though what was surprising is that he seemed to enjoy sitting next to Race. Who happened to be the loudest and most energetic kid he had probably met. A weird pair if you asked him, but who was he to judge. Maybe the kid was just to scared to tell Race to leave. There was something about him though, that made him read his file over lunch. Usually, he didn't look that closely at students' files if they were in his study hall because he wasn't actually teaching them anything. And the most he ever looked at was food allergies, just in case. But Spot had caught his attention.

Spot wasn't like the average student he usually saw. Granted, he worked at a small private high school in New York, so there really wasn't much diversity, but the kid really was something. As he glanced over at past school records, he realized the kid never stayed in one place long enough to really make any friends or even settle into the curriculum. That must suck. Poor kid, though he was with the Dentons now, so hopefully that would change. He had, had David a while back in his English class, and knew that his family was pretty good. Though, as he kept digging through Spot's records it was clear the kid was smart. Too bad, he never stayed in once place to really foster that. Hopefully that would change, maybe he might even stay here Mr. Kloppman thought.

What broke him out of his thoughts were the uneven breaths, and silent sobs. Mr. Kloppman watched as the newest member of his study hall sat at the table in the back desperately trying not to make a sound as he sat there crying. Maybe Spot didn't want him to know. Would it scare him more to walk up to try and comfort him, and would the kid just try and push away. But at the same time, he couldn't sit there and listen to him cry. He had read his background, and he wanted to provide a steady adult in the kid's life. He had gone too long without anyone being there for him, and Mr. Kloppman couldn't just let him continue to suffer alone. 

After a couple minutes of tears, he had finally had enough. He decided to walk over there to try and comfort the kid. Whatever was happening sure didn't look to be ending soon. But as he began to draw closer, all of the sudden the crying suddenly ceased, and before he knew it, Spot had run out of the room. It's not like he could just chase after the kid, he was getting too old to be doing that, plus it was technically a free period meaning Spot was free to go anywhere he wanted to.

Spot felt the teacher begin to approach him. Oh shit. He was gonna be in trouble now. He hadn't even realized he was causing a disturbance, but that never mattered in the past. Teachers would do anything to punish him. So he booked it, he ran out of the room. The only problem, he didn't know where to go. So after he escaped the room, he just collapsed against the lockers outside, trying to steady his breathing. What had he done, now he was going to get it on Monday. But for now, at least he was safe. All he had to do was wait it out until the end of the day, which was in, Spot checked the clock, and then glanced at his schedule, 8 minutes. He could survive.


	13. 8 Minutes (Spot/Mr. Kloppman)

Time seemed to be an illusion. 8 minutes his ass. He felt like he had been sitting against the lockers for an eternity, and yet time still seemed not to move. 

Spot willfully tried to calm his breathing. But nothing was working. The one nice teacher that everyone liked, well he had just made himself look like a fool in front of him.

If he could just get to the bathroom, then maybe everything would be better. He could hunker down in there until the end of the day, and then meet David and Sarah in the front of the school to walk back. But if only he could get to the bathroom.

His lungs felt like they were on fire, so his first course of action needed to be to slow and steady his breathing. But it was so hard.

In, out, in, out, in, out, in, out. And slowly, but surely he began to get it under control. Well, at least he wasn't hyperventilating anymore, more so just heaving. But he could work with that, more air seemed to substantially make it into his lungs. Now all he had to do was make it to the bathroom. Shouldn't be that hard, right? He could see the door from where he was sitting. Normally, it would be considered just a couple feet away. But in Spot's current condition, it felt like a million miles away.

Slowly, but surely, he dragged himself up from the lockers, and staggered over to the bathroom. He made it inside, and collapsed inside one of the stalls. Wasn't the most sanitary place in the world, but it was cleaner than most school bathrooms he had ever been in, plus it was better than sitting in the middle of the hallway. 

Maybe, if he just gave it some time, then Mr. Kloppman might forget about this entire ordeal. He was old right, Race told him that, and Spot saw it himself. Don't old people have bad memories. Only one could hope. 

After what seemed like 20 minutes, the bell rang. Albeit, which didn't help with his headache, but did bring a wave of immense relief. School was out for the day, yay. All he had to do was walk to the front. He got up, and headed out of his stall. He walked over to the mirror, and checked his appearance. After all, what would people think if he looked like he was crying. Luckily, his eyes were just a little red, but he still looked dreadful as ever. He really needed a haircut soon because it was starting to get annoying.

"Well, look who we have here Oscar." Spot heard the sneer as he was just finishing up checking himself in the bathroom.

Oh, shit, this isn't good at all. Nope, not at all.

"Well, Morris, would you look at that. I thought his little entourage would be protecting you. Didn't think it would be that easy." Oscar sneered in response.

"Go away." Spot said, trying to appear all hard, but he knew it wasn't working.

"And do tell me, why would we do that, Sean?" Oscar asked, laughing.

Spot didn't really have an answer. He just grabbed his backpack, and tried to leave. 

"Ha, what do you think you're doing?" Morris asked, shoving Spot in the chest as he tried to pass.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Damn it, he needed a new plan. Think, think, think, Spot. 

"You see, we just got ourselves some new brass knuckles here, wouldn't it be a shame if we just put them to waste and didn't use them?" Oscar asked menacingly as he and his brother put on their new knuckles.

Spot just shook his head, why can't this just be over. What did they even want from him anyway, he couldn't give them any money or drugs. And they probably knew that, so what did they want, he thought as he just shook in fear.

"Oh dear me, look at him. The little baby is gonna start crying." Morris laughed. "Do you need big brother Jack to step in. Not like he's your brother anyway. You dumb foster fuck up."

Ouch, Spot thought. At least they didn't know the truth. But still, it hurt to listen to the same words that everyone always told him. He knew no one would ever adopt him, and he already knew he was a fuck up. So why did it hurt so much to hear? Spot couldn't stop it anymore, he began to whimper. Maybe this is why Carlos always beat him, because it was true. He knew he was fucking weak. His back still hurt from yesterday's ordeal, anyway, not that, that ever mattered to anyone. All they wanted was a quick soaking, and then they'd be out. 

"Look at him, I can hear the waterworks already" Oscar laughed evilly.

All of the sudden, he was shoved to the ground, and the brothers had begun to punch and kick him. He could feel some of the wounds on his back begin to reopen, and he could feel his favorite shirt rip. His backpack had been knocked a couple feet away. He curled up in a ball, trying to protect his head, and just wished it was over. Shit, his arm felt like it was on fire. He grit his teeth to stop himself from crying out, but it didn't really work. The waterworks finally began to appear. There was nothing he could do. Blows felt like they were coming in from all sides, and he felt utterly defenseless as these two brothers beat him mercilessly. Oh God, how was he going to explain this to David and Sarah and Denton. He had just fucked up any chances at a good placement. And he was going to be locked up forever now like Carlos said. And it wasn't even his fault. Not that anyone would believe him.

Then his saving grace came.

* * *

Mr. Kloppman was just about to head home. He told himself, he didn't chase after Sean because the kid looked like he would just freak out more. Not that it mattered, he should have just followed the kid, he looked so hopeless and that broke his heart.

He usually tried to leave after the big rush of students flooded the hallway because it was utterly useless trying to push his way through the mob. Plus, with it being Friday, there was no way he could get through them all. Too many rowdy teenagers trying to get home.

So after about 5 minutes, the hallways were pretty much clear, save from like a couple of students, though those were usually the ones with after school activities, so they were going to be there after he left. As he left his room, he could hear the tell tale signs of sobbing. Oh god, was that Spot? He had already failed the boy once this afternoon, he wasn't going to let the boy suffer in silence. So he entered calmly, trying not to scare the boy more than he was.

But then he saw it. Two of his least favorite students of all time were just beating Spot. And it didn't look good. The poor boy was curled in a ball, just trying to protect any part of himself, but he was definitely cradling one of his arms. It was probably broken, and that wasn't good.

"Hey, boys, stop that right now!" He shouted, hoping the Delancy brothers would stop. He had broken up his fair share of fights in the past, don't get him wrong he could, but this looked more like a murder scene than a fight. There was blood covering the poor kid, and he just looked resigned, like there was no fight left in him.

Luckily, the Delancy brothers took the queue, and tried to run. Ha, not so fast. Mr. Kloppman may be old, but he wasn't weak. No, instead he was a lot stronger than most people gave him credit for.

He grabbed the two boys in question and dragged them to the office. He hoped the principle was still there, so he could hold them, before they decided to either press charges or call their parents. But he had to get back to Spot quick. The poor boy needed him.

Luckily, the principle was still there. The man wasn't the nicest of all people to be working under, but he was fair and understanding when he needed to be. He dumped the two boys in with a short explanation, and the man just nodded. If there was one thing his boss cared about, it was making sure every student felt safe. So that was good. Then, Mr. Kloppman ran back to the bathroom as quickly as he could.

When he got there, Spot was still in the same position as when he had left. That wasn't good, the poor boy was literally so scared and beaten down, it looked like he just gave up. Knowing that he probably wouldn't want an audience, Mr. Kloppman had declined on bringing the nurse. But he kind of regretted it now, just looking at the state of the boy.

"Hey, Spot." He called out calmly. "I'm just going to come over and check on you, if that's ok." He said as he began to walk over to him slowly. The kid was already freaked out enough as it was, he didn't want to add anymore stress.

Spot didn't move, but he could hear a significant change of pace in his breath. The kid seemed to be holding his breath, as if to remain silent. Shit. That wasn't good.

"Calm down buddy, it's alright. I'm just here to help you." Mr. Kloppman tried again. He saw the discarded back pack a couple feet away as he began to crouch down, so he grabbed it, hoping something in there might be useful.

The kid still lay shaking on the floor, though he could see now, that his arm was definitely broken. And his back didn't look that much better. Were those old scars? He wondered through the ripped up shirt. That didn't matter now, though, he didn't have time to really focus on those.

As he looked through the bag, nothing seemed to be that useful, until something caught his eye. Ah, the ball, he had seen Spot with earlier in the day. Hopefully that would help, right? 

He handed the ball to the boy as he began to try and coax the kid to sit up. 

Slowly, slowly, it was working. Spot had made it very clear, in the beginning, that he didn't want to be touched. So it was a very slow process. But, slowly, the boy had worked himself into a sitting position against the wall. 

He was still beyond scared, but at least now, Mr. Kloppman could try and have a conversation with him. The boy needed medical attention, but he didn't think he would let the nurse or any doctor, or any adult for that matter get close enough to touch him. So for now, it was just Mr. Kloppman sitting with him. When he calmed down enough they would go and get help, but for now, he wasn't going to risk moving Spot and ruining the semblance of peace he had just reached, however little it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AP scores got released yesterday. That was fucking nerve wracking as hell.


	14. After School (Jack)

Jack met up with Davey at the end of the school day near the front. He knew that Davey and his sister planned to meet his brother there after school got out, so he decided to wait with his boyfriend before he had to go home, but also because he wanted to say one last goodbye to Spot. Well that and their friend group usually met up in the entrance after school on Fridays to discuss whatever plans were going on during the weekend. 

However, as time ticked by, Spot still hadn't made his way to the front of the school. Now granted, it was a new school, and he probably didn't know his way around, but after 5 minutes, Davey was beginning to worry, and honestly, so was Jack. 

Race wasn't with Spot for his last class of the day, so it meant Spot was on his own. And knowing his brother, Jack knew Spot would never ask for help. The kid was too damn stubborn to make it on his own. But still, he was usually faster at finding his way back after years of navigating many schools.

"Jack, we need to go and find him. What if he got lost? It was my job to watch him today. Denton will be so disappointed in me if he gets lost." Davey asked nervously as he began to pace.

"So do you guys want to go and spread out around the school to find him?" Jack asked his friends. Though, most of them could care less. Only Davey, Crutchie, and Race seemed to really be paying attention. The rest of them were too busy either making out, or in Albert and Elmer's case trying to see how many gummy worms they could fit in their mouth. 

"Yeah, but what if he comes back, and no one's here?" David asked.

"Then how about, you stay here. Spot knows you, so if he does come here, you can text us. And then the rest of us will spread out around the school looking for him." Jack responds thoughtfully after a couple of seconds. 

"Ok, ok, that works." David said, calming down. "Now all we have to do is get the guys on board." He said as he gestured to their friends. At this point, Katherine and Sarah had separated and had slowly gravitated closer to where Jack and David were speaking. 

"Hey guys," Jack shouted, gathering everyone's attention. "Get over here."

"What'ya need Jack?" Romeo called out, disappointed that Albert and Elmer had eaten the last of the gummy worms.

"Well come over here, and I'll tell everyone at once." Jack called back, ushering everyone to come in close.

Everyone complied, coming in closer, though there was some grumbling that they had to move.

"Ok, so you know how I introduced my brother Spot at lunch today?" Jack asked.

A chorus of "yeahs" and nodding could be heard.

"Cool, so he may or may not be lost, cause it's his first day, and he was supposed to meet us out here, but he's not here." Jack said.

"Well, what'ya need us to do?" Finch asked clueless.

"If ya could let me finish first. I was gonna tell you that we need to find him, cause he's lost in there." Jack said expectantly.

Everyone was nodding their head.

"So it's like a mission. Like in the action movies" Race asked excitedly.

"Totally, and we have to be top secret." Jack replied sarcastically.

"Really?" Race asked getting more hyped up.

"No, you idiot. It's just us trying to find my brother and help him find his way out." Jack laughed, smacking Race on the back of the head.

"You didn't have to be so mean." Race replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Although it does sound like a mission." He laughed.

Jack just laughed. Leave it up to Race to find excitement in everything. "Cool, so can you guys help?" He asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Sure, I'm in." Crutchie responded, everyone just nodding their head along. 

"Good, good. So you guys know what my brother looks like cause you met him at lunch. He's kinda shy, so please don't scare him." Jack said making sure everyone understood. Their group could be a bit rowdy sometimes, and he knew Spot wouldn't enjoy being bombarded with that much energy. "And once you find him, please text me. He doesn't really trust anyone that easily, and he might not remember you." 

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Over protective much?" Romeo laughed.

"Hey, he's my brother. I just want to make sure he's ok" Jack said blushing. He knew Spot was naturally distrustful, and honestly he was to, to people he didn't know. "But seriously, please text me."

Everyone just nodded.

"Cool, so Davey, here, will stay here in case he makes his way to the front, and then if anyone finds him, put it in the group chat so we all know that we can head back." Jack said as he started his way down the main hallway, everyone following suit and slowly spreading out in pairs.

He had a hunch that his brother may have made his way back to Mr. Kloppman's just because the guy was nice and Spot had a free period at the end of the day. So he started down that hallway. It was a bit of a hike being at the other end of the building, but the school was small enough it only took a couple of minutes.

When he got to the hallway, he could hear a voice coming from inside the bathroom. Maybe that person had seen his brother, so he decided to enter the bathroom. Even if they didn't know anything, better safe than sorry, right, he thought.

But when he got to the entrance, he realized that was Mr. Kloppman's voice, strange right? The guy didn't usually stay long after school, let alone talk to himself in the bathroom. Not thinking much of it, he opened the door and entered. But he was not prepared for the sight he saw.

There was his brother. Sitting against the wall, curled in a bloody ball, shaking. Mr. Kloppman was sitting a couple feet away trying to calm him, obviously, but all Jack could really see was red. Who could have done this to his baby brother? The one he swore to protect when they were younger. Here he was, panicked out of his mind, all beaten and bloody. Immediately, Jack rushed to his side, surprising the teacher. Though he didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, Spottie." Jack coaxed, opening his arms to let his brother know it was ok. "You're safe here, I got you."

He shot a look at Mr. Kloppman, letting him know he got it from here, but also a questioning glance as to who did it. The man just stayed, obviously relieved that someone Spot knew was here.

"You're ok, you're safe." Jack said calmly and quietly as Spot fell into his arms, and he wrapped him in a tight, reassuring hug. "I got you, man."

He began to hum a random tune, like he used to do when they were younger. Though he was still angry. Why would his little brother have gotten beat up? He was gonna kill who ever did this to him.

Slowly, Spot began to quiet down. As Jack, moved him around to face him and assess his injuries, he immediately noticed that Spot was clutching his arm. It was definitely broken. So he tried to see if Spot would let him take a look at it.

"Hey, buddy. Can I see your arm for a second? It looks like it hurts, I'm just going to look, I promise." Jack coaxed, trying to see how bad it actually was, though he knew it wasn't good.

Slowly, Spot extended his arm, though he kept his other arm around it, cradling it, as if to protect it.

Ouch and yikes. Jack could see that it had already started to swell, and that the bone had snapped. That was going to hurt for a long time. He hated seeing his brother in pain, knowing there was nothing he could do to really fix it. If he could take his pain away and deal with it himself, he would.

"That's good, thank you." Jack said, ruffling Spot's hair. Though his brother didn't seem to notice. He looked to be in too much pain to really care. "Do you think you can get up now? I promise that we can get help." Jack said, knowing he had to text the group soon, telling them he had found his brother, but that it might be a bit. 

Spot didn't respond. Though, he looked up briefly, before turning his attention back to his arm.

"What if I help you up, you think you could get up then." Some of the urgency and worry leaking though his calm exterior.

He felt his brother nod, though he could sense his panic start to rise. Damn it, he had began to stress him out.

"Hey, it's ok. I promise everything will be alright. I'll be with you the entire time." He promised to both Spot and himself. He wasn't going to lose his brother again.

They stood up slowly, Jack practically carrying Spot. The boy was light, too light, but he didn't have time to dwell on that right now. Mr. Kloppman silently got the message. He grabbed his brother's backpack and began to follow him out of the bathroom.

With one hand, he sent a text on the group chat, telling everyone that he had found Spot, but that he was injured. He told them not to worry, and that they could leave now if they wanted. He would fill them in later, once they got more news, but he told Davey and Sarah to meet him in the office. After all, they were fostering his brother.

Davey was the first one to respond, telling him that he just entered the office, and saw a very angry principal with the Delancy brothers, and that he had already texted Denton to pick up Les, and that Spot needed help. 

Jack was definitely going to be paying a visit to those twins later, and if they happened to end up dead, who was he to know anything about it.

Sarah was the next one to reply, saying that she was on her way, and that everyone was going to head home.

Crutchie respond back shortly after saying he and Race would go home to inform Medda what was happening.

At this point, Jack just put his phone back in his pocket because Spot had basically given up any notion of wanting to walk, and had just decided to attach himself to Jack's front like an octopus. Not that Jack cared, he missed being this close to his brother. 

Mr. Kloppman was still following them, right on their heals, and the three of them made it to the office in record time. 

Shit, the nurse had already left, but the receptionist from earlier, Miss Lindsay, seemed to already be aware of the situation, along with the principal. They were there waiting, along with Davey and Sarah. 

The minute, they entered though, all hell broke loose.

When they caught sight of Spot, Davey began to panic and worry even more, telling Sarah to tell Denton, who she was on the phone with at that minute, to get to the school faster. To which she replied, that he was still 5 minutes out.

Honestly, Sarah had not seen a person in that bad of a condition in her life, but if she had anything to do with it, she too would be killing the Delancy brothers.

The principal was currently trying to also get a hold of Denton, wanting to know if the man wanted him to call an ambulance. Though Spot wasn't in critical condition, he definitely wasn't that far off.

The receptionist, the only one with really any brains, helped Jack to a chair as Spot was still attached to him, and began to crack those ice packs that every nurse had in their office, and offered them to Jack.

Spot, at this point, had begun to cry again, though Jack could tell he was trying to hold the tears back, but was loosing.

"Hey, it's ok. Just let it out if you want." Though he knew his brother was far too tough and stubborn to really show any of his true pain. If he was crying it must be really serious, and that was what was really worrying Jack.

After what seemed like an eternity, Denton rushed through the door. Les wasn't with him, which honestly, everyone was kind of thankful for. The boy could be a lot to handle on a good day, and right now, they didn't need that energy, no offense. Denton had smartly left him with the neighbors for the night.

"Thank god, if you hadn't come sooner, we were planning on calling the ambulance." The principal gushed.

Denton, calm as ever, trying to deescalate the situation, replied, "No, I think we can just drive him."

"Are you sure?" The principal asked again in a panicked voice.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." Denton replied, hoping to calm the man down. On the inside, he was just as panicked as everyone else was if not more, but he knew he had to be strong for Spot's sake.

"Ok, so umm, I know it's kind of the lowest priority right now, but what do you want me to do with the boys who caused this?" The principal asked again, unsure this time, but still just as worried.

"What are our options? Denton asked, as he sat down in the chair across from Jack and Spot, that had previously been occupied by Miss Lindsay.

"Well, we can press charges immediately and call the cops, or I can file a report, and we can wait to do so at a more convenient time." The principal responded earnestly.

"How about for now, we pick the second option, I don't think we need any more action right now." Denton said, gesturing to Spot.

Jack was furious. What do you mean Denton didn't want to press charges. Sure, that would make the situation 10 times worse, but what if they got away.

Denton, realizing Jack's distress responded, "Hey, they're not going to get away. I just want to make sure Spot's ready before we do anything."

While he was on the call with Sarah earlier, they had briefly mentioned that Spot was Jack's biological brother, which surprised him, now he could see the resemblance sitting right here. 

Jack thought, ok, maybe that is the best option.

David and Sarah had significantly calmed down more and had taken a seat against the wall, both sitting on their phones. He assumed they were informing everyone of what was going on based on the amount of notifications his phone was receiving in his pocket. 

Mr. Kloppman stood off to the side, kind of awkwardly. This is the first time something like this had really happened, but he knew he was probably going to need to stay just because he was the one who stopped the fight in the first place.

"We should probably start heading over to the hospital now," Denton said calmly, after noticing that Spot's arm was broken. He didn't want to spook the boy, but the faster they could get there, the faster he could receive medical attention.

Luckily he owned a car and had driven to the school because there was no way they could have taken an ambulance or walked to the hospital.

Everyone began to get up, David and Sarah holding the doors, as he grabbed Spot's backpack from his teacher. He told the principal and Mr. Kloppman that he would be in contact with them later tonight, and informed him that he wanted to stay in the loop of everything that was going to happen regarding the situation.

Both men were very understanding, and Miss Lindsay handed him a stack of ice packs to leave with on the way out. He thanked her, and they headed out.

Jack was still carrying Spot, David and Sarah were already in the car by the time they reached it.

Sarah was fumbling with the buckle, probably still in shock from the entire situation, but after a couple of times, was all buckled in.

David was sitting in the back with Jack and Spot, helping them get situated while Sarah was up front with Denton as he drove.

And off they headed, to the closest hospital. Everyone was worried out of their minds about their newest family member, or in Jack's case, best friend, brother.


	15. Hospital (Denton)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Probably incredibly, medically inaccurate.

As they drove, the tension in the air was palpable. Now normally Denton would consider himself a very calm, cool, and collected guy, but even the stress right now was beginning to get to him.

He clutched the steering wheel with so much vigor that Sarah had to tell him multiple times to relax his grip a bit. 

Everyone was pretty much silent. No one really knew what to say. He decided to put on some classical music in the background because that might help bring some calmness to the situation and also keep the car from being eerily silent, but it really only helped to an extent.

The worry on Jack's face was crystal clear. He knew his brother the best, and right now Denton didn't object to that. If it was a normal situation, Denton would have probably been worried that he didn't know the most about one of his kids and that someone else was taking care of them, but since he had just gotten Spot, he thought it was best to let Jack handle the situation.

After about a 10 minute drive, which could have been a lot faster, if it were not for New York traffic, they got to the hospital. Deciding the best course of action was probably to let Jack out, along with himself, while swapping places with David so he could go park the car, that's what they did. 

Sarah stayed in the car with David, so that she could call Les to inform him about what was happening, and so that Denton and Jack could get a little bit of privacy with Spot.

Denton watched as Jack carried Spot in. Even though he had, had the boy in his care for under 24 hours, Denton knew in his heart that Spot was meant to be here, with him. The boy had grown on him, and he could tell that Spot really needed his help. But he also knew, that trust wouldn't come easily and that Spot would probably be his toughest placement, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to work for him.

Oh, god, what if his social worker pulled Spot from him. The guy didn't seem like the most likable person in the world, scratch that, he was just down right horrible. Which might mean, that he would pull Spot from Denton, and he couldn't let that happen, for both his, and Jack's sake. 

They reached the front desk, and immediately, a doctor came out with a stretcher/bed to place him onto. At this point, Spot was pretty much out of it, in too much pain to really make any decisions, however his one decision was clear. He was not leaving his brother. 

After about a minute of trying to pry him off of Jack, they just decided to load both of them onto the bed. The boy looked so helpless and small as he gripped tightly to Jack. Denton wished he could hold his hand and assure him that everything would be alright, but he didn't know if that would be the case.

Based on the state of his back last night, he knew that whatever had happened today, did absolutely nothing to help it. 

After a couple of minutes of doctors rushing about and them being brought to a room, Denton felt himself sinking into a chair. Jack was still sitting there with Spot in his arms, refusing to let go. They had been separated for too long, both were scared that if they let go now, they may never be reunited again. He was pitifully arguing with the doctors that it was obviously his brothers wish to stay with him, but Denton knew that for health's sake of Spot, Jack needed to let go now. Spot had been put under by the doctors, so that they could examine him without any fight from him, but they hadn't expected it to come from his brother.

"Jack. Buddy, I know you love Spot, but he really needs to be examined right now." Denton tried to reason with Jack. He could feel the pain the young man felt, and knew that if he was in his shoes, it wouldn't be easy.

"But he needs me. I promised him we would never get separated, and then we did. I failed then, but I won't fail now." Jack argued back, crying, though deep inside he knew Denton was right. The man was always right. He saw him as a second father, the one he never had.

"I know. And you guys won't be separated ever again. I promise." Denton said, vowing to keep his words, no matter how long and how much he had to fight. "But right now, Spot just needs to be on his own for a bit. I promise I will let you stay the night, if it's alright with Medda, and that I will tell you first when we get results on his condition, but right now, you just need to trust the doctors." 

"B, b, but." Jack stuttered out, though he knew he was going to lose this fight. "Ok. I love you, Spot. Just know I'll be with you the entire time." He whispered into his brother's ear, letting the tears silently begin to stream out.

Jack let go of Spot, much to the doctor's relief, and slowly climbed off of the bed, careful not to disturb him, but also to make sure nothing happened without his consent.

Then he launched himself into Denton's arms, sobbing. 

Denton felt a little bit out of his element. He knew Jack reasonably well, or at least as well as you would know your son's boyfriend. He wished Jack and Spot could have been reunited with better circumstances, but you have to take what you can get right? Jack continued to sob into his shoulder, and Denton felt himself rubbing his back. 

Thankfully David and Sarah entered the room a few moments later. Both were looking disheveled and stressed, but marginally better than they had in the car.

Jack unattached himself from Denton, and threw himself around David, hoping to be comforted by his boyfriend.

David was a bit surprised, but took it in stride. He continued to try and calm Jack down from where Denton had left off.

Spot was currently not in the room, the doctor's taking him back for further examination. However, they were allowed to stay in the room, as that would be where Spot would be brought back, after x-rays and everything.

Sarah was the first one to break the silence that had fallen among them after a few minutes. "So, I called Les, and just told him we were in the hospital. I told him it was about Spot, and that we didn't know when we would be back, but that everything was going to be ok. I also told him that we would call, when we knew more. Right now, he's kind of panicked, but he didn't seem to be that worried because he was more so excited to be spending the Sally girl next door." 

Denton sighed in relief, at least Les was sorted out for the night. "That's great. Thank you so much for doing that." He said grateful that Sarah had done that. "Oh and David, thanks for parking the car."

David just blushed, Jack still crying softly into his shoulder. 

If those two didn't get married, Denton would be surely disappointed. They were a cute couple, and they were definitely meant for each other.

A doctor walked into the room, holding a file, a few minutes later. 

"Hello, my name is Doctor Cott, but you can call me Corey." He said, extending his hand for a shake. "So, we have news about your foster son's case, but first we have a few questions." 

"Ok, but he was just placed with us yesterday, and I left his file at my house in the rush to come here, so I don't know how much I can answer. Also my kids and his brother are going to have to stay, they probably know more about the situation as it is." Denton replied.

"That's fine. I guess I'll just begin now. So do you know any medical history regarding Sean?" Corey asked.

"I'm sorry I don't." Denton said, mentally kicking himself for not remembering anything or bringing his file.

"I do." Jack spoke up, sitting up from David's lap and taking a seat in the chair next to him.

"Ok, and you are?" Corey asked kindly.

"I'm his biological brother. We've been separated for a couple of years, but I know most of it." Jack said confidently.

"Good, good. That's actually really helpful." Corey replied. "So do you know if he has sustained any previous injuries that may have never been properly treated?" 

Jack flinched a bit, before hesitantly replying. "Yea, umm, we were in a couple of bad homes. That's actually why we were split up. A lot of families didn't like my brother." He said resigned. "I don't know why, he's a great kid. Kind of skittish, but everyone is if you've lived the life we have."

Denton's heart shattered a bit more hearing that. He had suspected Spot had, had a bad life, but hearing Jack confirm made it real.

"Huh. I guess, it was little stuff at first. I tried to protect him, I really did, and some of them went after me in the beginning instead, but it didn't stay that way." Jack said as he held David's hand, looking at the ground. "They used to punish him for stuff he couldn't control. It wasn't fair. I really tried, but in the end I failed him. After he turned 8, there was nothing I could really do or say anymore that would get the punishment off of him."

Denton sat there sadly, knowing Jack probably didn't want to have to open up about his past in this way.

"I guess, in the end I was never strong enough." Jack continued.

Dr. Cott sat there taking notes diligently, though seemed depressed at hearing about the brothers' abuse as well. "Do you need a second to continue Jack?" He asked politely.

"No, no, I'se ok." Jack replied. "Well, um, there are probably a lot of scars on his back from previous homes, anything from belts, to bare hands, to whatever they could get their hands on, Spot was probably beat by it." 

At this point, Sarah had left the room, unable to hear anymore of the horrors that her new brother had experienced. She had probably gone to get coffee or call Katherine or something.

"So umm, his back still has a lot of scars from that. But I also noticed new ones this morning, so I guess the torture never ended for him." Jack said, angry at the thought of what his brother had to go through without him.

"Other than that, we were pretty lucky. Neither of us ever broke anything, that I know of, save for a couple of ribs. But those were wrapped tightly and taken care of." Jack said, done with the conversation.

"I'm sorry to hear that Jack. No child, or anyone, should have to go through what both of you went through." Corey exclaimed. "I do have one last question before I tell you his condition."

"What is it?" Jack asked exasperated, just wanting the details.

"Jack, we have to answer this." Denton said, trying to calm him down. Though he too was anxious for Spot's condition.

"Oh, it's quite alright." Dr. Cott said understandingly. "But we do need to know if Sean has any pre-existing condition or is on any medication that would change our course of treatment?"

"He's autistic." Denton replied calmly. "As for medications, I don't think so."

Jack grumbled. He hated when people labeled his brother. It always brought pain and judgement.

"Thank you. And that's quite alright. We will take that into consideration when we treat him." Dr. Cott responded sincerely. "Now for the results: He is stable, which is good. Luckily nothing is too severely damaged, so he should be able to leave in a couple of days. That being said, he has a pretty nasty concussion, so you will need to watch out for that. As for his arm, it is definitely broken, but it was a clean break. Which is good. It means we won't have to do surgery, but we did have to set it. So, right now it is wrapped up, but he will need a cast. And finally, a couple of his ribs are bruised, along with one being cracked. But he was lucky, as his lungs weren't punctured, and the ribs should heal up good as new. As for his back, that is what worries us. Nothing life threatening, but the beating he sustained seemed to have opened some old scars, as well as have created new ones. We had to use 50 stitches to fix it, so there is a risk for infection, but if they are kept clean, and he keeps activity to an absolute minimum, we think it should be just fine. Other than that, he is still currently sedated and highly doped up on pain medication, but he is ready to come back in. He should wake up in a couple of hours, so that should give you enough time to go and grab stuff. When he does wake up, he will be disoriented, but please try to keep him calm. He has and IV and his hooked up to a couple of monitors, so that we can monitor his vitals, but if he feels any pain, be sure to come and get one of us, and we will give him something for it. Other than that, I'll let my team know, that you guys are ready for him to be brought back in." Dr. Cott, smiled, and left the room.

Jack, David, and Denton let out a sigh. So Spot was going to be ok. A little worse for wear, but he was stable, and everything should heal up just fine.


	16. Hospital Part II (Jack/Denton)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the biggest question I wonder about on the site is: why, when you go to add a chapter to a story, does it automatically start you out on HTML mode. From experience, it kind of fucks with the formatting. Not that I speak from experience or anything 😂. But seriously.

After Dr. Cott left the room, Jack saw his brother being wheeled in a couple moments later. He looked so helpless laying on the bed attached to wires and monitors. He could see where his arm was bandaged up and it broke his heart to see him all banged up. The doctors had propped up up onto his side as to not aggravate his back any more than necessary, and Jack wondered just what exactly he happened.

The next time he saw the Delanceys, they weren't gonna know which way was up. That is, if he was given the chance, they could rot inside prison for the rest of their lives if that's what it took to keep his brother safe.

As of currently, it was just Jack sitting inside the room. Denton had left with Sarah and David to drop them off, but also to pick up some stuff so he could stay the night. Medda was on her way with a bag packed for Jack, so he could also stay the night because he knew his brother would need him. Now usually, the hospital only lets one person stay, but due to extenuating circumstances, or in Jack's case persistence, he was also allowed to stay. Of course, he would need to sleep in a chair because two cots wouldn't fit inside the small room, but that didn't matter. He would sleep in whatever condition was necessary to make sure his brother was alright. 

* * *

Denton had decided to take the twins home because David and Sarah looked like if they were to spend one minute longer in the hospital they would explode. Not that he was much further off, but he didn't want them loosing sleep because of this. Plus, since Jack was already staying the night, it wasn't really necessary for them to be there.

The car ride was silent for the most part. No one really knew what to say. Sarah was still texting away at her phone, probably informing their entire group of friends everything that was going on. To his credit, David had pretty been in charge of informing Medda about everything since Jack was a little preoccupied and had made most of the arrangements. To which Denton was extremely grateful for. He had enough on his plate as it was. 

When they reached their apartment, David and Sarah entered first, heading to their rooms. They knew how to keep themselves busy and alive for a day or so, so Denton didn't worry about them too much. Plus, with Les staying over at the neighbor's that night, he didn't need to worry about him. Though, he should probably pop his head over to say good night and answer any questions he might have before he left. However, the first plan of action should be to pack a bag for him and Spot for the night or a couple of days.

Carlos had already been contacted about what had happened, and thankfully the ma didn't care enough to really move him and take him away at the moment, though he didn't know if that was actually a good thing considering this was the man in charge of Spot's safety usually.

He decided to pack three days worth of clothes for himself, not knowing how long he would be staying at the hospital, or the next time he would be home. He also went into Spot's room and grabbed some of his stuff, unsure if the boy would actually want any of it. When he opened the drawer, there wasn't much in it. Only a few shirts and another pair of pants. That broke his heart. The poor boy literally had nothing, and they were going to go out shopping for more this weekend, but that didn't end up working. 

Spot had his school backpack with him at the hospital, courtesy of David earlier, so Denton didn't need to bring that. However, he didn't really know what condition Spot would be in, or how much he would be up for talking, so Denton made sure to grab his binder and the iPad. Although he did have a concussion, so that may not be the best idea. Ah, what the hell, it had games on it to keep them entertained. He also grabbed Spot's blanket and ear defenders, making extra sure he had those because the boy had liked them last night. He also made sure to grab his file this time, just in case he needed it. And last, but not least, he grabbed a couple of strawberry drinks for him in case he felt up to eating those. 

In total, Denton was in and out of his apartment in about 10 minutes, record time. He had left money and a note on the counter for the twins telling them that anything food wise was basically fair game and that, they could take the train to the hospital tomorrow morning, or they could call him to come and pick them up. Whatever they preferred. And then he was out. He didn't want to leave Jack or Spot too long in case Spot woke up, or Jack needed help.

Then, he headed over to the neighbors, and knocked on the door.

"Thank you so much for watching Les. I know it's last minute, I just didn't know what to do with him." Denton told the mother as she answered the door.

"No problem Bryan. Honestly, what are neighbors for. He's happy here, so take as long as you need." She replied back helpfully.

"Thanks, I'll probably make sure to pick him up tomorrow, but I don't know what time, I'm sorry." Denton said.

"It's honestly not a big deal. I can watch him until whenever, and if you need me to watch him through the weekend that's completely ok. Sally likes having him over anyway, so it's not that hard to keep them entertained." She said.

"Ahh, thanks so much. I owe you one." Denton thanked her. "Can I say a quick goodbye to him?" 

"Absolutely, come on inside. The kids are in the middle of dinner, do you want anything for the road?" She asked him kindly, heading off to fetch Les.

"No thanks, I'm good, but seriously, thank you, you are a lifesaver." Denton called back.

"Dad, hi!" Les shouted, running to give Bryan a hug.

"Hey, buddy." Denton said, picking Les up. "How you holding up?"

"I'm good, just worried is all. Is Spot gonna be alright?" Les asked.

"He will, he will, just needs some time to recover at the hospital." Denton replied, setting Les down, and crouching down to his level to talk to him.

"That's good, can I visit him?" Les asked cutely.

"Not right now, I'm sorry. He's not up for visitors right now." Denton said sadly.

"Oh, that's ok. Well, tell him I hope he feels better soon." Les said.

"I will, I will. Well, I just came to check up on you, and to tell you, I love you." Denton said, hugging Les goodbye.

"Aww, Dad. I love you too." Les said, hugging his father back. "But, I've got to go now. We were in the middle of dinner, and Sally's mom made dinosaur chicken nuggets, and they're really good, so bye." Les said, tearing off to the kitchen to go and finish dinner.

"Bye, son." Denton said, laughing. 

Sally's mother was standing, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, watching their embrace. "Bye Bryan. And make sure to contact me if you need anymore help, I'm always free to lend a hand."

"Thank you so much. I will if I need it, but you watching Les, is seriously, more than enough." Bryan said, exiting the apartment. "Oh, and just so we're clear. When this is all over, I owe you big time." He shouted back, over his shoulder, already making his way back to the hospital.

* * *

Jack sat there, feeling numb. He didn't know what to do. His brother hadn't woken up, but the doctors said it might take an hour or so. Denton had left to go grab a couple things from his home, while Jack stayed and waited for his mother to bring his stuff. It had been about 20 minutes since Denton left, when Medda walked through the door.

"Hey, Jack. How you holding up baby?" She asked him, sitting down next to him.

"I don't know." Jack replied back, numbly.

"It's ok, Jack. Come here baby." Medda said, as she opened her arms for Jack to cry into.

All this time, he had always had to be the big brother, the protector for both of them. And he failed. He didn't know how to feel, and right now his little Spottie was paying the price.

He leaned into her embrace, and just cried. He didn't really know how he could cry though. He had been crying so much today already, he thought he had run out of tears.

"Momma, why did me and Spot have to be split up? It's not fair." He asked as cried into her shoulder.

"I don't know baby. Sometimes the world isn't fair that way. But you're here with him now, and that's what matters." Medda replied, feeling her son's pain. 

"But, it's not fair." Jack said, working himself up, getting angry.

"I know. You're right, it's not fair." She said, hoping to calm Jack down. "But from everything you've told me in the past. Your brother is one tough cookie, and is sure lucky to have you."

"Thanks, momma" Jack said, feeling a bit better. "I just hoped our reunion would have been a bit more positive." He said whistfully.

"I know, baby." Medda said, rubbing his back. "But hey, cheer up, when this is all over and done, you guys are free to hang out whenever you want. I won't stop you guys, and I doubt Bryan would either."

"Thanks, I'se know. And even if you did, I don't think you could." Jack said, cracking a small joke.

Denton entered through the door, glad he caught Medda while she was here. "No, I don't think we could either." He said smiling.

"Oh, Bryan, you're here." Medda said, straightening up and popping up from the chair to greet him.

"Yes, hi Medda, and hello again Jack." Denton said cheerfully, or at least as cheerfully as you could in a hospital. "I'm actually glad I caught you here."

"Same, dear. I just want to thank you for allowing Jack to stay with his brother at this time." Medda said gratefully. Jack blushing in his spot while she said that.

"Oh, no problem. I was actually going to say, that Jack here, was really helpful when the doctors came in." Denton replied.

"Oh, really. That's great Jack." Medda said, turning to look at Jack.

Jack feeling a bit embarrassed, "Oh, it was nothing. They asked me about his medical history, that's all." he said, hoping to get the attention off of him.

"But, I'm glad you were here. Honestly, I feel terrible not bringing his file or knowing any of it." Denton said.

Jack just shrugged it off, not really knowing how to respond. 

"Well, if you're good with Jack being here, I might as well leave. Spot probably doesn't want to wake up with a new presence in the room" Medda said, winking. "Plus, I've got to go and check up on Charlie and Tony, I don't know what those boys are doing without me." Medda said laughing.

Jack gave a small chuckle. His brothers were fun, but they were also anything but mature. Or at least Race is. Charlie could look after himself just fine, but with Race added to the equation, there was no guarantees either of them would make it out alive.

"So, I'll be off now. Make sure to text me Jack, and Bryan, if you need, I'll be happy to pick up Jack at any time, or if you need anything at all, just give me a call. Love you baby." Medda said, blowing a kiss at Jack.

"Love you mamma, bye." Jack said, standing up to hug Medda goodbye. 

Denton just waved goodbye and nodded his thanks, and then took a seat next to Jack. Both of them were just waiting now until Spot woke up.


	17. Awake (Jack/Denton)

Jack was currently bored out of his mind. Sure, he was still filled with worry and despair, but that didn't really provide any entertainment. It had been about an hour since Medda had dropped stuff off for him, and he and Denton were just kind of sitting in silence. It wasn't awkward or anything, but neither of them really knew what to say. Spot was bound to wake up any minute, so they were both just waiting for him. Though the wait was agonizing.

Jack couldn't remember the last time he had sat still, basically doing nothing. Sure, it was for a good cause and he was worried about his brother, but that didn't mean his mind was occupied. 

Was that a twitch?

Jack and Denton both jerked their heads up in surprise, watching to see if Spot was about to wake up. Jack rushed to his bedside, standing, holding his good arm's hand. He wanted to be there, assuring his brother, right when he woke up.

A flutter of the eye lids, he was definitely waking up.

Denton, moved his chair closer to the bed. He didn't want to stand in case that startled Spot. 

Spot's hand twitched again. He was slowly gaining consciousness again.

"Where the fuck am I?" Spot asked, confused, and in pain, slurring his words together.

Jack just chuckled. Leave it to his brother to wake up from a near death experience already swearing.

"Seriously, where the fuck am I?" Spot asked, this time more lucid, and aware.

"Hey, Spottie, you'se all good. You're in the hospital right now. Do you remember what happened?" Jack asked his brother, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

"Jack, is that you? You came back, and saved me." He said, fighting to sit up, though he was still too doped up on pain meds and in too much pain to really make much progress.

"Yeah, buddy, I'll always come back for you." Jack responded, ushering Spot to lay down again. "Just take it easy for me, you got pretty banged up earlier."

"I'se remember," Spot said groaning. His vision was starting to clear up, and with that came the pounding headache from the light. He closed his eyes again, groaning. "It fucking hurts." He whined, hoping Jack would understand what he meant.

"What hurts, Spottie?" Jack asked, getting really concerned. "What's the matter?"

"It hurts, Jack!" Spot, said, more desperately this time. "T, t, t, turn it off."

"I don't understand, I'se sorry." Jack said, worried as he didn't know how to help his brother.

"I got it," Denton said, as he got up quickly, and turned the light off, returning to his seat once he was done.

Spot who just took notice of Denton's presence, instinctively flinched closer to Jack. 

"Hey, it's ok. He's cool. I promise you, he's been really worried about you, and just wants to help." Jack said, noticing his brother beginning to try and get away.

"I'se trust you Jack." Spot said, after a minute of struggle.

Denton felt incredibly relieved. He was now more thankful than ever that Jack was there to help. He honestly didn't know if Spot would have trusted him without Jack being there. But after watching the kid calm down, he decided to try talking with him.

"Hey Spot. We were real worried about you earlier. How you feeling, buddy?" Denton asked, trying to gauge his pain level.

Spot just shrugged. He knew he was in pain, but he couldn't really feel it over the drugs coursing in his system.

Denton took that as a positive. At least the poor boy wasn't crying out anymore, so that had to be a positive.

"They did a real number on you, didn't they buddy? Is your head feeling alright?" Denton asked, hoping to get more of a response. Not that he could blame Spot, but he needed to see how badly the concussion was affecting him.

"Is your head feeling alright?" Spot mumbled to himself a couple of times. He was still incredibly high on drugs at the moment, so it took a bit for him to process the question. Finally, he pushed out, "head feeling alright."

Denton sat there relieved. Ok, so maybe this concussion wasn't too bad. Spot seemed to be able to hold up a conversation ok, despite also having narcotics running though his blood. "That's good. That's good." He said more to himself, than to anyone else, but he could tell Jack and Spot were relieved to hear that.

"So, I'se been thinking." Jack said, hoping to keep his brother awake and lucid a bit longer. "We should plan something fun to do together, when you get out of here."

Denton smiled. He hoped that with Jack here that Spot might feel slightly more comfortable in the hospital, and he was right.

Spot just nodded, too tired to really respond. Though, he didn't want to fall asleep. No, his brother was here, and he couldn't just sleep through it.

Jack smiled. "So we could hang out at someone's house just like old times, or we could go to that little park you and I used to love when we were younger, you know for old time's sake."

Spot just glared at him. Jack already knew the answer to that, he definitely wanted to go to the park.

"Sheesh, it was just a question. No need to give me the stink eye like that" Jack said laughing. "I guess I know your answer, park it is."

"Duh." Spot said, smiling himself.

Denton enjoyed watching the two brothers interact. He knew Spot really needed this right now, as did Jack.

"So, I'm kind of thirsty. I might go grab myself a coffee, do you boys want anything?" He asked, leaving them to give them some alone time.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though." Jack said. "You want anything Spottie?" He asked, turning to face his brother.

Spot just shook his head. He didn't really feel in the mood to eat or drink anything right now.

Denton left, going to get some coffee, but also to check up on Sarah and David, fill them in on what's going on.

"So Spottie." Jack said, momentarily unhooking hands with his brother to go and drag a chair over. "I think you've found yourself a good place." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Spot just looked sad at the mention of that. "But, I'se not with you." He said, tearfully.

And while it broke Jack's heart that his little brother wouldn't be living with him, he knew it was for the best. Medda was nice and all, but she already had two other boys before Jack came along, and Spot probably wouldn't handle living with them well. Plus, Denton was an amazing father to Davey, Sarah, and Les, and Jack knew that if Spot were to get adopted by him, then everything would work out. They'd practically be living together anyway with the amount of time Jack spent sleeping over in Davey's room and the amount of time Spot could spend at his place. They could make it work.

"I know, I know. But think about it. While we won't legally be living under the same roof, there's nothing stopping us from really spending every waking moment together. Medda and Denton are cool. And honestly, they're two of the nicest people I'se ever met." Jack said, hoping to comfort Spot.

Spot nodded. Jack had a point. Plus it was a lot closer than they had been in the past couple years. "I guess, but."

"But what?" Jack asked, pushing Spot to continue.

"But, I'se want to be with you." Spot finally finished.

"It's ok. I promise to spend as much time with you as possible. Plus, it's not like Medda and Denton don't practically parent together anyway. I know it might not be what either of us wanted, but think about it this way. We're with two of the nicest people ever, so it'll kind of be like we got adopted by both of them, in a way. Plus, when we're both adults, I don't doubt we won't live together, or at least next to each other." Jack said cheerfully.

"Ok, you're right." Spot said cheering up. Though his mood immediately dropped again. But that's only if Denton wants to keep me, and knowing me, I'se probably find a way to screw that up. He thought bitterly.

"Hey, why the long face?" Jack asked, noticing his brother's mood drop again.

"It's just. This'll only work out if Denton wants to keep me, and you knows me, no one ever wants to keep me." Spot said bitterly.

"Hey that's not true. I want to stay with you until we're both old and wrinkly and can't move." Jack said sincerely. "But, I think Denton really does want to keep you. He was really worried about you earlier, and he even brought you some stuff that he remembered you liked from last night. Plus, when you was asleep, he kept asking me what you liked." Jack said, knowing that Denton was in it for the long haul, but not knowing quite how to reassure his brother that it would all work out in the end.

"Really?" Spot asked. "He really cares"

"Yup. He even asked me if it would be ok with me if you were to live with him, but probably don't tell him I said that. He might want it to be a surprise later." Jack said giving Spot a wink.

Spot couldn't believe his luck. That was great. Jack said Denton was a good guy, and that he wanted him. Maybe today didn't suck as bad as he though. He looked down at his arm. Never mind, it did, but this was still amazing news.

"Hey, scoot over. I don't think Denton would object to me climbing in, d'ya think he would?" Jack asked with a mischievous smirk.

Spot didn't care how much pain he was in. He would never admit this to anyone, but anytime Jack wrapped his arms around him, Spot felt content, safe, like when they were younger. So he slid over, allowing Jack to hop over the railing with ease, though careful not to mess with any chords or wires. And there they fell asleep like that, just like when they were younger and Spot would crawl into Jack's bed if he had a nightmare, that was if they weren't already sharing. 

It had been a long day, and they were both finally exhausted, but happy that they were together again.


	18. Denton Being A Total Dad (Denton)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the wait. It has been way too long since I have updated.

Denton headed back to the room, coffee in hand. Hospital coffee wasn't great by any means, but at this point, he didn't care. He was tired, but he also wanted to stay alert in case Spot needed him at all during the night.

His call with David and Sarah had been productive. Both of them were exhausted and worried. He was glad to have taken them home earlier so they could at least get a good night's sleep in their own beds. Well at least he had hoped they would. Turns out when they called him, they were in the middle of watching a movie, in which David was already asleep. Sarah wasn't too far off, but she didn't stay on the call for that long. Either way, at least they were at home and resting comfortably, unlike himself.

It was going to be a long night. When he walked back into the room, the first thing he noticed was Jack curled up around Spot protectively in the bed, as they lay sound asleep. The doctors weren't going to be happy about that tomorrow morning, but Denton didn't have the heart to tell Jack to get off the bed. Plus, he had at least taken the precaution to move all of the wires and monitors out of the way, so they lay on top of him and not under him. 

While he was gone, someone had graciously left a cot near the entrance, but Denton knew those things were uncomfortable, and that he wanted to stay awake and alert in case anything happened. So he didn't make any move to set it up. 

Both boys looked at peace sleeping together. And did he secretly took a picture of them and send it to Medda, who really knows? All he knows is that if he did, it was definitely going to be framed somewhere in his home. 

If this night proved anything, it was that Denton fell slightly more in love with the boy who had entered into his life the day previously. He knew the moment Spot stepped foot into his home that he had wanted to adopt him, but watching him sleep, with no care in the world, only solidified his stance that he would fight with all of his power to keep the boy.

Jack had graciously given him his approval with a slight smirk earlier, which comforted Denton. While he knew that it really wasn't up to Jack whether or not he try to adopt his brother, he knew he couldn't live with himself if the brothers were to be adopted separately against their will. 

It was kind of cold in the room. Not too much that he would ask for it to be turned up, but it was a hospital, so the room was bound to be a bit chilly. Both boys had pushed the blankets to the end of the bed, neither of them opting to lay under scratchy, thin sheets. Denton knew he wouldn't want to. Luckily, he came prepared. He carefully, and as quietly as he could grabbed the blanket from the bag he had packed for Spot, and draped it over both of them.

Both Jack and Spot settled into the blanket a little once it was over them. Ah, first mission accomplished Denton thought as he sat down in the chair on Spot's side, making sure to stay close in case the boy needed him.

Though he could relax a bit. Luckily he was sound asleep right now, which means he had some time to himself. He grabbed the iPad from the bag, a pair of headphones, and decided to pick a movie from Netflix to watch.

It was going to be a long night, he thought as he settled back in the chair sipping his coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short. I apologize. This week had been kind of hectic, but I promise to come out with a better and longer chapter later today.


	19. Recuperating At The Hospital (Spot)

Spot woke with a jolt. Where am I, he thought. Why does everything hurt? He tried to sit up, but someone's arm was wrapped around him. He rolled over, carefully trying not to wake them up, but when he saw the person's face, all the memories of yesterday hit him.

That's Jack. I'm safe. Good. 

If he was being honest, despite being pulverized to a pulp yesterday and sleeping in the hospital, that was one of the best nights of sleep he had gotten in a while.

Everybody was still asleep in his room, and the room was dark, but he could see the sun streaming in around the curtains on the windows. Denton was snoring in the seat next to the bed in what looked to be an uncomfortable position, but who was Spot to judge. Jack was still cashed out, holding tightly onto him, making Spot feel all warm inside. He had missed when mornings used to be like this. 

And they had a blanket over them. So obviously Denton hadn't been too mad. Or maybe he was too tired to argue with them. Whatever the case was, Spot didn't really care. The man had remembered that he liked this blanket from the first night he stayed with them, and had brought it to the hospital with him, which was a nice sentiment. He hoped Jack was truly right, that he was in it for the long haul with the man.

Spot rolled over to try and fall back asleep, careful not to jostle his bad arm. But the movement must have not been as subtle as he was hoping for.

"What I'se up?" Jack said, opening his eyes.

"Shh. Denton's still asleep." Spot hissed back.

"Oh, Spottie, you're for real. I thought this was just a dream." Jack said, snuggling Spot in closer.

"Yeah, I'se real dumb ass. But if you want to be any louder, I'se sure Denton is gonna wake up too." Spot shot back, hoping the man didn't wake up. It's not that he hated the man or even distrusted him, it's just that he didn't feel all that comfortable around him yet.

"Quit you're griping," Jack said, playfully, but quieter this time. "But Spottie, I'se missed you. You can't blame me, can you dear old brother?" 

"No, I suppose not." Spot said, releasing his anger from earlier.

"That's the spirit little bro." Jack said, ruffling his hair. "Now when's breakfast? I'se starving."

"I dunno." Spot said. He was hungry too, but this wasn't the longest he had ever been without food, so while it sucked. He was used to it.

"Hmm. Well, how about I goes and sneaks out a bit, maybe flag a nurse down or check out the cafeteria, see if we can get breakfast." Jack said, thinking about it for a moment.

Spot just shrugged his shoulders. While he was hungry, he didn't want Jack to leave.

"Or, I can wake up Denton and see what he wants to do." Jack said thoughtfully, realizing his brother's nerves at him leaving.

Spot didn't want to inconvenience the man because he did look like he needed the sleep. But Jack was hungry, and so was he. So giving a shrug, and a slight nod, Jack took his queue.

"Cool, I'se can do that. Just give me a minute, I have to untangle your wires from myself." Jack said, starting to move Spot's good arm so he could get out from under the wires and blanket.

When he was all untangled, which took a lot longer than Spot expected because he didn't realize he was hooked up to that many machines, Jack hopped over the edge of the bed.

"Shoot." Denton exclaimed, scarring Spot, but also startling Jack.

"Hey, Denton." Jack said with his charm. "Funny you should wake up, I'se was just about to wake you up."

Spot froze, hoping the man wasn't mad and that he and his brother weren't going to be punished.

"Oh. Sorry about that boys. I was trying to stay awake in case either of you needed me, but looks like I fell asleep." Denton replied back calmly, but still exhausted.

Spot felt better after hearing this. The man really was going out of his way to care for him.

"Look after us? We'se ok, right Spottie?" Jack asked, hoping to cheer his brother up.

Spot nodded, not really knowing what to say.

"Well that's good boys. I'm kind of hungry myself as we skipped dinner last night, so you guys must be hungry as well, right?" Denton asked cheerfully, looking for his empty cup of coffee, hoping to refill it soon.

"Yeah, we're hungry." Jack said, answering for both of them.

"Ok. Well, I can go grab some food from the cafeteria and bring it up, if you boys want. Anything specific you want?" Denton asked straightening his shirt, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to try and gain some alertness.

"I don't care, whatever's fine." Jack replied, sitting in the seat across from Denton, on the other side of Spot's bed.

"Same." Spot said, not really sure what he could have, just wanting to eat.

"Ok, that sounds good. I'm gonna head down now, maybe even refill my coffee while I'm down there too." He said, gesturing to his cup as he left the room to go and fetch breakfast.

"So, how are you feeling?" Jack asked putting his feet up on Spot's bed and making himself comfortable in the chair while they waited for food.

"I'se fine." Spot replied, hoping that Jack wouldn't think he was too much of a baby.

"Don't give me that. I know you're in pain." Jack said, seeing through his brother's lie.

Spot huffed. "Fine, fine, my arm hurts, and so does my head and my back." Spot conceded.

"Now that's more like it. But also, I'se truly sorry I couldn't be there to protect you." Jack said feeling guilty for all that his brother had to deal with alone.

"It's ok." Spot replied, sensing his brother's guilt.

"No, no, it's not. You're my baby brother Spottie, and I couldn't help you." Jack said sadly.

"It's not your fault." Spot argued. "Plus, you'se here now, and that's what matters. I don't blame you at all." 

"Thanks Spottie." Jack said, feeling a bit better. Changing the subject he added, "What do you think Denton's gonna bring us for breakfast?"

"I dunno know." Spot replied back, curious as well. From the time he had spent with him so far, none of his meals had been bad.

"Do you think it's pancakes, sausage, bacon, ooh bacon." Jack said rambling off his thoughts. "I could kill for some bacon right now."

"Dork." Spot said, laughing at his brother's antics.

"Hey, I'se not the dork out of the two of us." Jack replied, laughing as well.

"Whatever." Spot said, his head starting to bother him. "Do you know what's wrong with me?" He asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Well, you'se got pretty banged up, but nothing too serious. We were really worried about you for a while, but luckily nothing is life threatening. You'se arm had to be set cause it's broken, cleanly, but straight through, you have a concussion, and about 50 stitches in your back." Jack said, listing off all of Spot's maladies. Though feeling incredibly sad when he mentioned his back. He knew the Delanceys aggravated his back, but most of the wounds were already there from old homes.

"Oh," Spot replied quietly, that explained the headache, the throbbing in his back, and hwy his arm hurt so much. "So why don't I have a cast?" He asked, curious as to why his arm was just bandaged and not cast.

"It's cause the doctor said the swelling needs to go down first." Jack said, after trying to remember what Dr. Cott had said yesterday.

"Oh." Spot said, a bit disappointed. He thought he had escaped having to have a cast. 

"Hey, look, everyone wishes you a happy recovery, and they hope you feel better soon." Jack said, after a couple moments, as he scrolled through the group chat.

"Huh?" Spot replied, a bit confused as to who everyone was.

"Oh, I'se meant our friend group." Jack said blushing. "The ones I introduced ya to yesterday."

"Oh." Spot said, he was a bit confused when Jack said "our", as he didn't really know them, but he supposed they were really nice if they were sending him get well soon wishes.

"Want me to read 'em to ya?" Jack asked hoping to keep up their chattering.

"Sure." Spot said, wondering what everyone had wished him.

This one's from Race. "Yo Spottie. I hope you feel better. And don't worry, we'll be soaking whoever's ass that did this. P.S. I hope you get better soon, I like having class with you."

Spot smiled. So Race really did like him. While the boy was loud and obnoxious at times, he was a friend.

Crutchie sent this one, "Hey Spot, hopefully Jack reads you my message. Make sure to give him a hard time for me. And I hope you get better soon." 

Spot grinned at that. Crutchie seemed sweet.

This one's from Davey, "Hey, Spot. I know we haven't known each other for that long. But I think of you like a brother, and I hope you get well soon." 

"Aww, that's cute." Jack said, pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye.

Internally Spot was screaming. This was so good! This was the first family he had ever been in, in which everyone seemed to like him.

Ooh, Sarah sent this one, "Hi Spot. We haven't officially really met, but I hope you feel better soon. P.S. Sorry to hear you're stuck with Jack, that must suck. Jk, but seriously, I hope you get well soon." 

Jack smirked at that one. He definitely did not regret his decision of dating Davey, the nicer twin. But it was all in good fun.

Skittery sent this one--

Jack was cut off as Denton reentered the room, this time bringing food.

"Hello, again, boys. Sorry to interrupt you." He said politely, setting the food down at the foot of Spot's bed.

"Nah, it's no big deal. I'se was just reading Spot all the nice messages our friends sent." Jack said, looking at all the food and taking his feet off of Spot's bed.

"So I brought you a coffee Jack. I didn't know if you like them or not." Denton said.

"Thanks, I do like them." Jack said, grabbing the liquid caffeine from his hands.

"Sorry, Spot. I don't know if you can have any with all the medicine going through your blood right now." Denton apologized.

Spot just nodded. He didn't really care, he didn't even like coffee.

"And then grabbed us each an order of pancakes. With syrup and butter on the side. I also got some bacon for us to share." Denton said, as he distributed the food.

"Ooh, bacon." Jack said, gleefully as he began to grab a couple of pieces to stuff in his mouth.

"Here, let me help you Spot." Denton said, noticing Spot's predicament. "I can raise the bed so you're in a sitting position so you can eat, and I'll grab the tray."

Spot just nodded, grateful he didn't have to stay laying down. He felt Denton adjust the bed, and then saw the food being placed down in front of him.

"Thanks." He mumbled, thankfully. 

"No problem, buddy, happy to do it." Denton said as he dug into his meal, Spot doing the same.

Hospital food wasn't great, but these pancakes weren't that bad if he was being honest. Denton's yesterday were so much better, but he really wasn't in a condition to complain.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Denton exclaimed standing up abruptly and rummaging through his bag. "I packed these yesterday if you want one Spot." He said, setting down one of the strawberry drinks that Spot really liked on the tray in front of him.

Jack smirked, eyeing him knowingly. Denton really was in it for the long haul. "So I'se see you still like strawberry" Jack joked, as he grabbed the bottle to uncap it for his brother.

Spot just blushed.

Both Denton and Jack chuckled at that, Spot was cute when he did that.

After that, the room fell silent again, as they finished breakfast. All three of them, hungrily devouring it as they had skipped dinner last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad. I lied yesterday. There was no second chapter. I am sorry. But alas, I hope you liked this chapter.


	20. Dr. Corey Cott Says You're Free To Go Home

The hospital was largely uneventful. Despite Spot getting beaten up and having to stay there for a couple of nights, all in all, nothing really happened. Denton and Jack were pretty much there all the time, and Sarah, Les, and Davey visited a couple of times. Medda only came to check on Jack and swap out his stuff. Even though Spot didn't get discharged until Tuesday afternoon, Jack had stayed there every day.

Because Spot has a concussion, they tried to stay off of electronics if they could help it. Most of the time he just slept, trying to recuperate, but when he was feeling up to it, Jack, Spot, and Denton would play cards or just chat. Denton and Spot getting to know each other better, Spot and Jack catching up, and Jack and Denton talking about Spot. Everything was peaceful and calm while they were there, well as calm and peaceful as living in a hospital room could be.

Denton liked Spot. He was unlike any of his other kids. Les was energetic and loud, David smart and studious, and Sarah the socialite. Spot, for the most part he was quiet, shy, and nervous, but when Denton saw him lower his walls and act carefree, he was a completely different person. Sure, he was never the loudest or most rambunctious person, but he was funny and quick witted. Despite not really ever showing much emotion, he had this aura of faithfulness and strength around him, as if he was willing to go to great lengths to help anyone out if he considered them family. He was always so reserved talking to others, but when Denton saw him and Jack interact when they were alone, he knew the boy wasn't always like that.

Spot trusted Denton. Not as much as he trusted Jack, no he didn't think anyone could ever reach that level. But he trusted him, enough. The man was kind, and didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. Most families would have left him alone at the hospital, but Denton had stayed with him through every minute of it, other than to run home to check on his other kids or go and grab more stuff. He liked that about the man. Jack said it could be a permanent thing, but Denton hadn't brought it up yet, so Spot assumed it was too early to make that kind of decision. Though he was cautiously optimistic that this would work out. Overall, Denton was probably the best parent Spot had ever had, and that was just in the not-even week of knowing him.

Jack watched as Spot and Denton got to know each other better. Deep in his heart, he knew the two were meant for each other. His brother needed someone nurturing and calm, but also able to push him when he needed to be pushed. He knew it would be a good fit. Despite it only being a total of about 4 and 1/2 days of them knowing each other, Jack knew this would be permanent. 

"Well you are free to go once you sign these papers, sir." Dr. Cott said as he walked through the door handing a clipboard to Denton. 

"Thank you. As much as we love this place, these boys and I sure are ready to get out of here." Denton said, grabbing the clipboard and pen.

"That's right." Jack said smiling. 

Spot nodded ready to get out of this bed, though nervous about going back to the apartment.

Denton handed the signed paperwork back to Dr. Cott. 

"That's quite usual guys." Dr. Cott said chuckling. "As much as I loved having you as a patient," he said to Spot "I hope I never see you here again. Oh, and that goes for you too gents." Dr. Cott joked with them. "Here, I brought some pamphlets about concussions and protocol, and information for your next check up to get those stitches out. As for the brace, you can take it off to wash off, but do please try to keep it on as much as possible. I have a note here, excusing you from any gym classes for the foreseeable future, and I have another note explaining your concussion to give to the school." He said handing them to Denton, as everyone was packing up. "Oh, and I guess that's it. Your next consultation is already scheduled, so I guess I'll be seeing you again, but other than that, you're free to go home." 

"Thank you for everything Dr. Cott." Denton said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Thanks" Spot, muttered, hoping the doctor got his message. The man was really nice, was he was kind of too sociable for Spot's tastes.

"Well, that's everything, we appreciate all of your help and everything you have done for us." Denton said as he checked to make sure they had everything before they left the room. 

"Bye guys, take care." Dr. Cott waved as he began to reset the room, getting it ready for the next people who might need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do apologize for being suddenly sporadic with my updates. Sorry this was such a short chapter. I know I kind of skipped the entire hospital stay, but I was bored of writing about it. Anyway, stay tuned for the next update with more to come.


	21. What is home?

Jack carried Spot on his back on their way out of the hospital. Denton did not want to comment on it, but he knew the boys were going to have to split up soon. Medda was waiting in the lobby since he had texted her earlier saying that they were checking out soon.

"Jack, baby." Medda said as she walked over to greet her son. "I missed you, and I know Charlie and Anthony will be happy to see you."

"I know Mama. I'se love you too." Jack responded, as he carefully set his brother down into a chair, making sure not to aggravate his back.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, it is time we must part boys." Medda replied theatrically, hoping her energy would cheer the brothers up and stop the fight that she knew Jack would pitch once he realized him and Spot had to separate.

Spot glanced up tearfully. While his trust for Denton was there, it was never going to be as close as he had for his brother. And despite people always promising that life would be better, Spot knew from experience that this may be the last time, in a long time, that he could see Jack. 

"Spotty, don't gimme that face. You and I both know that we will see each other soon." Jack said, holding back a sob. He was not sure if he could even convince himself of the words he had just uttered.

"B, b, b, But, Jackie." Spot stuttered out, crying. "I'se, I'se... Remember last time."

"Yeah, buddy. I do." Jack said looking down. "But this time will be better. I promise." He said as he held his pinkie up, promising his brother.

Spot looked up quickly, surprised that his brother would be willing to make such a grounding promise. With a small smile, despite tears still pouring down his face, Spot held his pinkie up as well and locked his with Jack's.

Denton and Medda stood watching the boys say goodbye, as if this was their final goodbye for awhile. Although both sadly knew, that to these boys, the thought was one based in evidence.

Eventually every had to split up and head home. Medda had to head back and cook lunch for her boys, while Denton promised his clan that they would be home before lunch.

They got to the car, although it was a slow process. Spot and Jack kept looking over their shoulders back at each other, silently crying and praying that this would not be the last time they saw each other. 

Denton had just finished loading all of their stuff into the trunk, giving Spot the choice of either sitting in the back or the front, not knowing if the boy wished to be up by him or laying in the back. Spot elected to sit up front, despite being in clear pain with his back against the seat.

The drive went smoothly, Spot even fell asleep against the window, exhausted from the morning's goodbyes. And as Denton pulled up to their apartment complex, he saw Les, David, and Sarah standing their smiling and cheering. Each were holding part of a banner that read "Welcome Home Dad and Spot". It was homemade, and Denton could tell Les had gotten a bit carried away with the glitter. But it was touching, and at that moment, Denton could not be any prouder of his kids.

He woke Spot up, gently whispering to the boy, not wanting to scare him. Yet, Spot still woke with a startle, momentarily confused as to where he was, until Denton explained it to him. The tear tracks were still evident on his face, but at least he was not longer crying. 

Spot looked out the front window, and immediately his eyes caught sight of the sign. He blushed a bit, not used to all the attention, but quickly spread a little grin.

If that was one positive Denton could take from this entire morning, then he would be happy with that.

Together, Denton and Spot unloaded the stuff from their car and began to walk over to where Les, David, and Sarah stood cheering with their sign as if they were coming home at the airport. Though Spot supposed this was kind of similar as they had been gone almost 5 days. 

Spot barely even knew these people, and yet his gut instinct was to trust them. Maybe it would get him hurt, but if his brother had told him to trust them, then it would hopefully be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been waaaaaay toooooo long since I have last updated, and I apologize about that. I have probably lost all of my readers by now, but what the hell. For those of you whom have been with me since the beginning, kudos to you. For those of you whom have just found my work; well, I hope you enjoyed it. Anyways, feel free to drop a comment about anything, but jokes are especially appreciated. I hope everyone is doing well, and I promise the next update will not take as long.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Please drop a comment if you enjoyed it, hated it, loved it, laughed at it, was bored out of your mind. Any critique or compliment is welcome. Or if you have a funny joke, I would love to read that too. Well, I hope you enjoyed my first ever fic. By the way, proof reading sucks, so please do not expect this to be a renowned, world-famous, amazing, grammatically correct work of writing. I write for fun, that is it. But if you do want to pay me, not that I will ever give away any private information or deserve money, I appreciate the sentiment.


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